Details in the Fabric
by empresslars
Summary: Rachel wants to improve her relationship with the other Glee members, so she turns to Matt and Mike for help. AU after Bad Reputation. P/R, with M/M/R friendship. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or any of the characters used in this story. Title is from the Jason Mraz song.**

Matt Rutherford is used to not being noticed. His three best friends are Frankenstein, Mohawk Boy, and the Dancing Machine (seriously, Matt sits behind Mike in English – he's constantly bobbing his head or tapping his feet. It's actually a little distracting); Matt knows that he tends to fade into the background when he's around them, which he is about ninety percent of the time. Matt doesn't really mind too much, however – when people don't see you, then they don't see you watching them, and he's gotten _very_ good at observing others. He figured out Puck was Quinn's babydaddy _weeks _before Mercedes blabbed it to the rest of club. Right now though, he's just noticed Rachel Berry staring at him from across the cafeteria, and frankly, he's a little terrified. It's been a few days since the _Run Joey Run_ video fiasco, and Matt's really not interested in being Rachel's next love interest. He manages to avoid her as he leaves the cafeteria, but at the end of the day he shuts his locker door only to find her standing right behind it.

"Hello, Matthew! May I call you Matt?" Rachel asks brightly. Her eyes have a slightly manic glint. He nods dumbly, and she continues, "I realize that we haven't really had an opportunity to become acquainted, which means I have been remiss in my duties as Glee Club Captain. I believe that the club needs to be a cohesive unit in order for us to succeed, and I should certainly be leading by example. So, I was wondering, if you were free, would you be willing to join me for a cup of coffee, although tea is really much better for your vocal cords, or perhaps a non-dairy smoothie?"

Matt's eyes have glazed over a bit. The words leave Rachel's mouth _really fast_. Of course, he'd already known about her rapid-fire speech and impressive vocabulary, but neither has ever actually been directed _at_ him before, and it's a little overwhelming. Once his brain has caught up to her last question, he hesitates. He actually _does_ have plans to hang out with Mike, so he's unsure of what to say. She looks down at her shoes for a second, and he sees her take a deep breath. When she looks back up at him, the crazy eyes are back and her smile is just a little too wide.

"Oh, how silly of me, I should have realized – _of course_ you must have plans already. I completely understand, really, maybe another time!" Rachel begins backing away, torn between trying to make a graceful exit and turning and running far, far away as quickly as possible.

Matt makes a decision. "Rachel, wait," he calls, rubbing his hand over his head. "Actually, Mike and I were just going to grab some burgers at Brian's. You can join us, if you want – I mean, you don't mind if it's the three of us, do you?" He thinks it's a pretty brilliant solution: she doesn't feel rejected, Mike will be with them so she doesn't get the wrong idea, _and_ he gets a burger. Everyone's a winner!

"Oh, no, I don't mind, that would be great, actually, but I wouldn't want to impose…"

He rolls his eyes at her. "Dude, we're just going for burgers, it's not high tea or anything. I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't want you to come." Rachel nods her acceptance, her smile genuine and blinding. He continues, "All right, then, let's go. Mike's driving, I'm supposed to meet him in the parking lot."

As they head down the hall together, Matt spots Puck at his locker a few rows away. Rachel is chattering about…something (Matt's not entirely sure what), and she nods at the mohawked boy as they approach. Puck raises an eyebrow at Matt, who shrugs his shoulders in return. Matt notes with interest how Puck's eyes follow Rachel, so he turns to the girl beside him and asks nonchalantly (in a voice _just _loud enough for Puck to hear), "So, Rachel, have you ever been to Brian's before? It's, like, half and hour away, but they have the _best _burgers. We go there after away games sometimes."

When the pair reaches the double doors that lead outside, Matt pushes one open and gestures for Rachel to go ahead. As she walks through, he glances back casually, and sees Puck still watching them, a curious expression on his face. Matt gives him a little salute before walking through the door, and smiles to himself. _Interesting._

In the parking lot, Mike looks at little surprised to see Rachel with Matt, but he greets her with enthusiasm. Rachel begins apologizing again, "I really don't want to intrude, I understand how important bonding rituals are for males, and…"

"Rachel, seriously, shut up!" Matt interrupts. "You're coming with us."

Mike grins, "We insist." He opens the front passenger seat, and bows to Rachel with a flourish. "Your carriage, milady." Rachel smiles at both boys and gets in.

The drive to Brian's isn't as awkward as Matt was afraid it would be, since neither boy has ever really spoken to Rachel outside of Glee, much less hung out with her. But because Mike tends to babble when he's nervous, and obviously, Rachel does as well, there are few uncomfortable silences. From his seat in the back, Matt mostly listens to the conversation between the two in the front seats, which gives him the chance to observe. He's come to the conclusion that Rachel isn't looking for her next leading man, she's looking for a friend, and damned if he doesn't want to help her out. He honestly doesn't think it would be very hard, being her friend. Hidden behind the diva attitude, Rachel is a genuinely _nice_ person, if a little blind to normal teenaged social cues sometimes. She's also surprisingly pleasant company; for one thing, she actually has other topics of conversation besides Broadway. She questions the boys about their childhoods and their hobbies, and she really seems interested in their answers.

"Mike, you're such an amazing dancer. What first interested you in dance?"

"Well, when I was little, my grandmother used to watch me while my parents were at work. She didn't speak a lot of English, but she _loved_ the old movie channel. She especially liked musicals."

Rachel smiles. "So, which one?"

He glances over at her. "What do you mean?"

"When I was little, I loved to sing, but it wasn't until I saw a production of _West Side Story_ and I heard Maria belt out 'Tonight' that I thought, '_That's _what I want to do, I want to be up on that stage.' So, which movie was it for you?"

Mike nods, understanding. "_Singin' in the Rain._ Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor are _amazing _in it_._ I actually broke my arm in second grade trying to run up a wall like Cosmo does during 'Make 'Em Laugh.'"

"Hey, wait," Matt says. "I thought you broke your arm by falling out a tree."

"Dude, I was afraid to even tell people I liked to dance. Like I was gonna tell _anyone_ I tried to run up a wall."

Rachel turns around in her seat to face Matt and asks, "What did it for you?"

"The _Thriller_ video," he answers immediately. "I was like, five, and my older brother showed it to me because he thought it would be funny to scare me. But I loved it, and I watched it over and over again, trying to learn the dance. And I was a zombie for Halloween every year for like, the next five years."

"Dude, that video is _epic_! I thought zombies were _real_ because of it. I even came up with a plan!" Mike launches off on an explanation of what he would do in the event of a zombie invasion, and there is a pause. His fingers tap out a beat on the steering wheel, and Matt sees him glance over at Rachel, as if he's afraid she will laugh at him and his incredibly detailed plan.

"Well," she begins hesitantly. "I don't know if raiding a gun store would really be a good idea. After all, that's where _everyone_ would go first in the event of a zombie outbreak, and anyone who actually owned a gun store would probably not be willing to share his or her merchandise. Also, in the movies, the zombies always seem to get through the windows when they're blocked off with wooden planks and furniture, so you would probably want to obtain mortar and bricks in order to securely seal all the ground floor windows in your hideout, assuming you have a sufficient amount of time, of course. Otherwise, you'd be better off choosing a location that has a limited amount of ground floor windows and entrance points." Mike and Matt are both staring at her, a little stunned, and Rachel blushes. "My daddy is a huge horror movie fan; I think I was about seven the first time I saw _Night of the Living Dead_. It never hurts to have a plan for any situation, no matter how improbable."

"Damn, Rachel," Mike grins, impressed. "When the zombies come, you are _more_ than welcome to join me in my bunker." He wiggles his eyebrows at her in an exaggeratedly suggestive manner. "And feel free to take that invitation in any way you like." Rachel just laughs and punches his shoulder lightly. The group spends the rest of the drive discussing zombie movies and video games ("What do you mean, you've never played _Left 4 Dead_? We need to fix that, like, _immediately!_"), and before they know it, they've pulled into the restaurant's parking lot.

"So," Matt says, after they've settled into their booth and placed their orders with the waitress. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me – us – about?"

Rachel fiddles with the corner of her napkin, then looks across the table at the two boys, a rueful smile on her face. "Was I that obvious?"

Matt shrugs. "You seemed like you had something on your mind when you came up to me today. At first, I thought you were trying to hit on me..."

"Oh, no!" Rachel blurts out. Her eyes widen when she realizes that she's just inadvertently insulted them. "I mean, not that you aren't attractive, you are, you _both _are, I just…oh, God." She buries her face in her hands and puts her head down on the table.

Mike and Matt are both laughing. "Relax, I'm not taking offense," Matt says.

"Speak for yourself," Mike interjects with mock anger. "What do you mean, you don't want to hit this?" He gestures at himself with a grin.

Matt elbows him, and turns his attention back to Rachel. "So what _did_ you want to talk about?"

"Well," she begins, focusing intently on her napkin again. "It's about Glee. I meant what I said earlier, Matt, about needing to be a cohesive unit in order to succeed. But it's not just that, a group also needs a leader to rally behind. I had hoped that Finn and I would be able to fulfill that role, but Finn has had…other concerns lately, and it has been repeatedly brought to my attention that I am not very well-liked."

Matt and Mike exchange a glance. "So," Mike says slowly, "what can we do to help?"

"I've watched the two of you at practice – not in a creepy way, I promise!" She says hurriedly. "You both seem to get along well with everyone. As a performer, I'm used to receiving criticism in order to improve, and I thought that it could be applied in this situation as well. And I noticed that you, Matt, don't tend to say very much, but you seem to be very aware of everything that goes on, which is why I approached you first. So I suppose I'm asking you, _both_ of you, for advice about what I can do to improve my relationships with the other Glee members." She sighs. "I know this probably sounds pathetic." She takes a deep breath and looks up at them nervously. There is a brief silence as the boys try to choose their words carefully.

"Well, for starters," Mike begins, "you should probably stop dating the other members of the club."

Rachel blinks at him, and then laughs, breaking the tension at the table. "Yes, I suppose I haven't had the best track record, have I?"

Mike smiles at her, relieved that he didn't piss her off. "Well, Finn was kind of a disaster, and it would be probably be really awkward if you ended up dating again, what with Puck and Quinn and all. I know Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes got on your case when you started dating Jesse. And there was that whole thing with Mr. Schue –"

"Oh, no, you guys _know _about that?" Rachel blushes. "It was just a silly crush, and it only lasted for a few days. I was hoping no one noticed!"

"Well, you weren't really subtle about it, Rachel," Mike says, his eyes sparkling with laughter. "You got _really _into it during your 'Endless Love' duet with him."

"I'm so embarrassed," Rachel says, holding her head in her hands.

Matt shrugs. "Hey, we all have embarrassing crushes. Mike here once had a thing for Coach Sylvester."

Mike socks him in the shoulder. "Dude, _not_ cool! That was a _secret_!"

Rachel mimes zipping her lips and locking them. "I won't tell a soul."

"She's a very handsome woman!" Mike says defensively. "And it was freshman year, before I found out that she's completely unhinged! Anyway, we were talking about _Rachel's_ dating history, not mine."

"Speaking of dating," Matt says casually. "What's going on with you and Jesse? Are you guys still on?"

Rachel sighs. "I don't know. He broke up with me after that stupid video, said I broke his heart, which I still maintain was a _bit_ of an overreaction. He's leaving for San Diego this weekend for spring break, and I think the time apart will give us both some time to think things over."

"No offense," Matt begins cautiously, "but I don't like him very much. He's never really tried to get along with any of us, and he didn't even seem to treat you very well."

Mike agrees, "You can do better."

"Well, thank you for saying so," Rachel says shyly. "I just wanted it to work so badly, and he seemed _so _perfect for me. I guess I just ignored all the things he said and did that didn't fit into my picture of what I thought a perfect relationship should be." She looks thoughtful. "It seems to be a recurring problem of mine."

"So, going back to your original question," Matt says. "And please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need to be a little less…intense in Glee."

Rachel tilts her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Matt explains, "you can be a little…" He looks at Mike helplessly.

"Terrifying?" Mike suggests.

"Overly critical," Matt says.

Rachel looks crestfallen. "I don't mean to be," she says sadly. "I just want to push everyone to be their best so that we can win."

Matt says gently, "I think you just need to remember that we all work in different ways. Like you said before, you're used to taking criticism in order to make your performance better, but that doesn't work for, say, Tina. She's shyer than you, and responds better to positive feedback and constructive criticism. But in the end, all of us are on the same team, and we all want to win."

"And," Mike adds, "This might sound kind of cheesy, but if you just relax and be yourself, the other gleeks will come around. This is, like, the first time we've ever hung out, but you're completely different from how you are at school. You're funny, and nice, and, actually, kind of awesome."

Rachel laughs. "Thank you. I'm sorry I never made more of an effort to get to know you guys before today. I think you're both wonderful." Mike and Matt both grin at her.

"'Bout time you noticed," Mike says playfully.

The conversation is interrupted by the waitress, who drops off their food (a plain burger with a side salad for Rachel, bacon cheeseburgers with onion rings and milkshakes, along with a side order of fries topped with cheese, bacon, and ranch dressing for Mike and Matt).

"Oh, I've _missed_ hamburgers!" Rachel exclaims. "Jesse was a vegan, and he made me feel so bad about eating meat that I told him I'd be one too." She gingerly takes a bite of her burger, and lets out an appreciative moan. "This is _so_ good!"

"Not gonna lie, Berry, that was kinda sexy," Puck says with a smirk, sliding into the booth next to her. He nods at Matt and Mike, "'Sup?"

Matt hides a smirk of his own. He had a feeling Puck would show up eventually.

"Hello, Noah," Rachel says, surprised. "What brings you here?" She glances at the boys across from her, her eyes pleading with them not to say anything about their earlier conversation in front of Puck.

"My mom's banned bacon from our house, I swear, just to punish me and Quinn for the whole baby thing. I just _mentioned _a Brian Burger to Quinn, and she was all, 'I need one, like, right now.' And since she's living in my basement, guess who's on craving duty?"

"What's a Brian Burger?" Rachel asks curiously. She doesn't remember seeing it on the menu.

"A cheeseburger with peanut butter and bacon."

Rachel wrinkles her nose. "That sounds disgusting."

Puck shrugs. "Don't knock it 'til you try it. You can have a bite of mine."

"Wait, you're staying?"

"Yup, might as well eat my burger in peace. Why, am I interrupting something?" Puck asks, narrowing his eyes.

"No, I was just surprised, that's all – of course you're welcome to stay."

Puck relaxes. "So, what brings _you_ three here?"

Matt suppresses another smile at the slightly jealous tone of Puck's voice. "Just hanging out. Trying to decide which of one of us Rachel's bunking with when the zombie apocalypse comes."

"Nope," Rachel grins. "I'll have my own bunker. If you're nice, _maybe _I'll let you guys join _me._"

Puck seems surprised at the easy rapport between the other three, but joins in the conversation readily. The waitress delivers Puck's burger, and he offers Rachel a bite, which she pronounces "interesting, but strangely delicious."

When Rachel excuses herself to the restroom, Puck waits until she is out of earshot, and glares at his two friends. "Okay, so what the hell is going on here? Since when are the three of you all buddy-buddy?" His gaze hardens. "You weren't planning a dine-and-ditch, were you? Because I will kick both of your asses, like, on principle. That shit's _not_ cool."

Matt and Mike exchange an amused look. "Dude, she wanted to hang out, I invited her to come to Brian's with us," Matt says. "Chill."

"Frankly," Mike adds, "we're a little hurt that you think we'd even do something like that."

Pucks rolls his eyes at him. "Whatever, man." Mike kicks him under the table, which escalates into them tossing fries at each other, until Rachel's voice interrupts them.

"Why is it that when a group of boys gets together, it inevitably devolves into roughhousing and male posturing?"

"Male what?" Puck asks blankly.

Rachel sighs, and motions for him to scoot over so that she can sit down. "I'd ask what I missed while I was gone, but apparently, it wasn't much."

The waitress comes by with Puck's carryout order for Quinn as well as the bill, which Matt scoops up. "We got this."

"Oh, no," Rachel demurs, "I can't let you – "

"Nah," Mike stops her. "You can get it next time."

Rachel smiles at the implication that they'll be hanging out again. "Okay, thank you."

The next morning before school, Matt sees Rachel in the hall and jogs to catch up with her. "Hey, Rachel! What have you got there?" He asks, nodding at the paper bag in her hand.

"Good morning, Matt! I had an idea last night…oh, hold on, there are Quinn and Noah."

The four teens greet each other, and Rachel says casually, "So, I made some bacon and egg sandwiches for my dads, but neither could eat them because they both had breakfast meetings this morning. Would either of you want one? It's turkey bacon, but –"

Quinn's eyes widen. "Bacon? Yes, please." She nearly takes Rachel's hand off in her haste to grab the bag. When Puck reaches for it, she smacks his hand away. "Uh-uh, mine."

"But –"

"Nope, pregnant lady gets dibs. Thanks, Rachel," she says with a genuine smile. "I'll see you in Glee."

After she walks away, the two boys turn and look at Rachel, who has a satisfied look on her face.

"Oh!" She exclaims, digging into her bag, and pulling out another paper sack. "I thought that might happen, so I brought two more sandwiches."

Puck grabs them both gratefully with a "Thanks, babe" and a wink, and heads off to class (or, more likely, off to the nurse's office for a nap).

Matt grins at Rachel. "Well, I guess bribing people with food is another way to win them over."

She grins back, and says, "Hey, no one can resist bacon."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews/favorites/alerts! This is my first fanfic, and I was really nervous about posting. So thanks again, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, I still don't own Glee.**

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* * *

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Rachel rings the doorbell to Matt's house and waits, nervously clutching a tray of home-baked chocolate chip cookies. It's Friday night, and he's invited all the Glee club members over to his house to hang out (sans alcohol, since his parents will be home, although they'll be upstairs all night and out of the way). He had winked at her when he announced it at practice the previous day. She really appreciates how he and Mike seem to have taken her under their wings. Honestly, she hadn't expected much when she approached Matt the other day – it had been kind of a last resort, really – but she's so glad that she did. She feels a little like Cinderella, with the two football players as her fairy godfathers (she probably won't tell them that though, since they would probably object to being described as fairy _anythings_).

In the one Glee practice that's taken place since talking to Matt and Mike, Rachel tried to implement their advice, with overall positive results (in her opinion, at least). Yes, she did snap at Finn for messing up on the choreography, but honestly, _how_ many times have they discussed the whole left-turn vs. right-turn thing? Anyway, she also suggested he put a sticker on his left sneaker to help him remember, so that was a good thing, right? Still, she's making an effort, and she recognizes that she has a long way to go if she wants to win over the rest of the Glee Club. In order to help her focus on her goal, she's posted a list on the wall across from her elliptical machine that says: "_1) Do not date anyone in Glee. 2) Be a team player. 3) Relax and be yourself_." It's right below the sign that says "_REGIONALS_."

The door opens and Matt greets her enthusiastically, taking the tray and ushering her inside. Mike, Tina, and Artie are already in the living room. "Hey guys, Rachel's here!" Matt announces. "And she brought cookies. _Delicious_ cookies." The last part is a little muffled since he has shoved one in his mouth. Mike scoots over in his seat on the couch and gestures for Rachel to sit between him and Tina. He hands Rachel an Xbox controller.

"Hi Rachel!" Mike greets her happily. "I was playing _Left 4 Dead. _Remember, we talked about it the other day. Here, try it!" It takes some time for Rachel to figure out the controls, but soon she's blowing away zombies left and right. She abhors violence, of course, but she can't deny the feeling of satisfaction she has as she mows down a row of the flesh-eating monsters with a shotgun.

As the other members of the club arrive (except for Jesse, who left for San Diego that day, and Finn and Kurt, who are out bowling with their parents in an attempt to "bond" as a family), they switch the Xbox over to Rock Band. Rachel is actually enjoying herself; Mercedes is always much nicer to her when Kurt's not around, and Santana hasn't called her Man Hands all night. She tries playing the guitar and the bass parts, which she picks up fairly quickly, but she's absolutely _hopeless_ on the drums. In between songs, Rachel chats with Tina and Artie about horror movies (unsurprisingly, Tina loves horror movies, and Artie is just a huge fan of movies in general), and Mike tries to teach them how to pop and lock.

She's cheering on a passionate rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" (with Artie on vocals, Matt on drums, Puck on guitar, and Mercedes on bass) when she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. She opens up the text message to see a photo of a blonde, big-breasted girl in a bikini kissing Jesse full on the lips. Eyes filling with tears, she drops her phone with a gasp, and looks up to see everyone staring at her.

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Mike asks, picking up the phone. He glances down and sees the photo, which is still displayed on the screen. "Oh."

Rachel jumps up and asks everyone to excuse her for a moment, and she runs to the bathroom. She splashes her face with water, and stares up at her reflection. Logically, she knows she shouldn't be so upset. She and Jesse were, after all, no longer a couple, and she'd realized that the relationship wasn't really working anyway. Although they both loved music and the theater, and they were both _wildly_ talented, being with him just didn't _feel_ right; the _Run Joey Run_ video had just been the final straw. Still, he'd been her first serious boyfriend (she and Puck hadn't really dated long enough to consider him a boyfriend, and she didn't count Finn either since he'd said he hadn't even realized they were dating), and she'd even considered giving him her virginity. Just because Jesse isn't her boyfriend anymore doesn't mean she wants him flaunting his new…hussy in her face.

There is a light tapping on the door. "Rachel? Are you all right?" It's Mike. Rachel dries off her face, takes a deep breath, and opens the door. Mike gives her a sympathetic look and hands her the phone she had dropped.

"Thanks," Rachel says. "I'll be okay. I know it's an unfair generalization, but why are boys so…"

"Mean?" Mike supplies. "Thoughtless? Completely horrible?"

Rachel giggles in spite of herself. "Yes. All of the above."

"Yeah, we can suck sometimes." Mike shrugs. "But hey, girls can be pretty bad too. I mean, look at Santana."

Rachel laughs, and then claps her hand over her mouth, glancing towards the living room as if expecting to see Santana storming over.

Mike smiles. "Hey, it's okay. Santana would be the first to admit that she can be a horrible person sometimes. She's cool once you get to know her. Just don't put up with her crap and stand up for yourself, she'll respect that. Anyway, don't worry too much about Jesse. Look at it this way – everyone needs a good story about an evil ex. Consider it a future anecdote to tell the readers of _Us Weekly_."

"It may be missing a little something…maybe I'll say she was my best girlfriend or something to make it a little more juicy," Rachel suggests.

"Hey, why stop there?" Mike says mischievously. "You can say it was your best guy friend. Whatever, you've still got a couple of years to perfect your story." Rachel laughs. "But, hey, who are you?"

Rachel is confused. "Um, Rachel Berry?" Mike raises his eyebrow at her. "I am Rachel Berry," she repeats, this time with conviction in her voice.

"Right, and the Rachel Berry I know does not put up with this crap from anyone, right?"

"Right," Rachel agrees firmly. "And especially not from any _guy_."

Mike grins at her. "Damn straight."

"Thanks, Mike," she says sincerely.

He puts his arm around Rachel and gives her a small hug. "No problem. Ready to go back in?" She nods.

The rest of the group have been talking quietly, but fall silent when the pair enters the room. Even Santana looks mildly sympathetic.

"So," Puck says finally, breaking the silence. "Can we kick his ass when he gets back?"

Rachel giggles, and everyone looks relieved that she's not, like, hysterical. "No," she answers. "Jesse is not worth the suspension you would undoubtedly receive. And if he wanted to upset me by hooking up with some bleached blonde _harlot _who wears too much makeup and has what I suspect are fake breasts, he doesn't know me at all, and obviously didn't deserve me in the first place."

"Hm," Santana says, eying her appraisingly. "There may be hope for you yet, Berry." Rachel smiles at the cheerleader, and sits back down on the sofa, picking up the controller to flip through the song list.

"So who's up next?"

* * *

The party begins winding down a little before one. Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes have already left, due to a seven a.m. Cheerios practice, and Artie's mom has just pulled up to the curb. Quinn and Puck are talking quietly on the couch as Rachel collects the paper plates, napkins, and plastic cups strewn about the room into a garbage bag.

"Hey, Artie?" Quinn calls. "Do you think your mom would mind driving me home as well? I mean, to Puck's house? He's gonna stay a little longer, but I'm beat."

"Sure, no problem," Artie shrugs. "We're dropping Tina off too – she lives on Adams. Puck's on Monroe, right? It's only a couple of blocks down." He and Tina wave goodbye to Rachel and Puck as they leave.

Quinn gathers her things, and stops in front of Rachel. "Hey. Jesse is an ass. If you want to destroy him, let me know, because I can totally help with that." She gathers Rachel into a hug. "Well, good night!" Quinn moves on to say goodbye to Matt and Mike in the kitchen, leaving a stunned Rachel in her wake.

"Yeah, it's _weird_, right?" Puck asks, stretching out on the couch, his arms crossed behind his head. "I think it's the hormones. One minute, she's all peace and love, offering advice like she's Dear Abby, and the next, she's chucking cans of Pringles at my head because I got her the wrong flavor."

Rachel laughs. "I'm not complaining. Seeing the nice Quinn Fabray every once in a while is better than never seeing it at all."

"Hey," he says seriously, sitting up. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, with the whole Jesse St. Dickhead thing?"

She sighs, taking a seat at the other end of the couch. "Well, I _am _upset, and I won't deny that my ego is more than a little bruised. But I'll be okay. I didn't think he was right for me anyway, and his behavior tonight only confirms that belief."

Puck cocks his eyebrow at her. "All right. But my offer to kick his ass still stands."

"Duly noted," Rachel says wryly. "So, how are things with you and Quinn?"

He shrugs. "Well, living with her is kinda weird. We have to share the bathroom, and she takes _forever_ to get ready in the morning."

Rachel giggles. "And how are your mother and sister doing with situation?"

"Sarah _loves_ Quinn. She finally has someone to like, braid her hair and shit. My mom, though, she's not taking it very well. She keeps making up all these bullshit rules, like the whole no bacon thing. We haven't kept kosher in _years_. She's doing it just to punish us."

Rachel frowns. "But your mother is always so nice at temple."

"Yeah, at temple, to _you_, because you're 'that sweet little girl with the lovely voice.' I swear, she said that." Rachel blushes. "Anyway, Quinn and I, it's weird, but we get along a lot better now that we decided _not _to date. Who knew having a baby together would make us _friends_?" He shakes his head.

"Speaking of the baby," she says gently. "Have you found a family for her yet?"

A sad look passes across Puck's face. "Yeah. There's this couple from Columbus, Ned and Charlotte. They seem pretty cool, and they've agreed to keep us updated on the baby. I know it's the best thing for her, but…it's hard, you know?"

Rachel scoots down the couch and places her hand on his forearm. "Oh, Noah. I can't pretend to know what you're going through. But at least you'll get to know how she's doing. She'll be so lucky – she'll have her adoptive parents, and you, _and_ Quinn to love her."

He looks up to meet her gaze, and she is taken aback by the emotion she sees in his hazel eyes. She feels like she's forgotten how to breathe. She can feel the heat of his body next to hers and she realizes how close they are sitting on the couch. Her face grows warm, but she finds she can't (or doesn't want to) look away.

"Hey, Rach?" Matt's voice calls, approaching from the kitchen. "You're a _guest_, you don't have to clean up."

Rachel jumps up from the sofa and picks up the garbage bag she had dropped as Matt enters the living room. "Oh, no, it's no problem. I couldn't leave you to clean up all by yourself."

"Well, thanks." Matt takes the bag from her. "Mike had to leave since his curfew's at one, asked me to say goodbye to you for him. Are your dads picking you up, or do you need a ride home?"

"I can take her home," Puck offers.

Matt looks at Rachel, who nods. "Okay, man," he says, "thanks."

Rachel collects the leftover snacks from the table and brings them into the kitchen, and meets the two boys at the front door. They fall silent at her approach, and she wonders what they were saying about her (because, _come on,_ they couldn't have been more obvious). She gives Matt a hug, thanking him for the lovely evening, and bids him good night. When Puck and Rachel get to his truck, he opens the passenger door for her before getting into the driver's side. He turns to her and asks, "Hey, do you have to be home by a certain time?"

"No. I think my dads were so glad that I was 'doing normal teenaged things' that they neglected to give me a curfew. Why?"

Puck shrugs as he starts the engine. "Don't really feel like going home yet."

They drive in comfortable silence for a little while, and Rachel begins singing along softly with the radio. He glances over at her, and she smiles ruefully. "Sorry, I can't help it. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it."

"I don't mind," he says.

Puck pulls over in front of the Community Center Park and they walk to the playground. He plops down into a swing and motions for Rachel to join him. She puts her hands on her hips and teases, "You really are just an overgrown child, aren't you?"

"Whatever," he scoffs, "swings are _awesome_." She laughs and sits in the swing beside him, letting her legs dangle.

"Bet you I can go higher," she challenges.

"Now who's the child?" Puck grins. "You're on!"

It's close, but Puck beats her by a hair. "It's just that your legs are longer than mine!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Berry."

He leaps off the swing at the height of the arc and lands heavily. Rachel does the same (although much more gracefully, if she does say so herself), and grins at him. "I've always loved doing that."

"Me too. Race you to the jungle gym!" He says, taking off.

After goofing off on the jungle gym for a while, the two climb up to the top and sit, both lost in their own thoughts. "Hey, Berry," Puck says, breaking the silence. "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." She glances at him, taking in his sober expression, and nods. "Do you ever see your mom?"

The question takes Rachel by surprise. Other than her therapist, no one has ever asked her about her mother before. "Oh, I…no, I don't."

"It's cool if you don't wanna talk about it –"

"No," she reassures him, "it's fine. And no, I've never met her. I actually don't know very much about her. She was a student at Ohio State, and she responded to an ad my dads placed in the paper. She carried me to term, popped me out, collected the money, and vanished." She can't keep the note of bitterness out of her voice, and she sees Puck's surprised reaction to it.

"Are you mad at her? For not keeping you?"

Rachel understands where this is going, and she is torn between answering honestly and reassuring him that he's making the right choice for his own baby. "Noah, my situation was different from yours and Quinn's. My biological mother signed a contract – I was never hers to keep. And don't get me wrong, my dads are wonderful, but sometimes, late at night, or when I'm going through a particularly difficult time, I do think about her. I wonder what she's like. I wonder if she's a singer, and if she is, if she's better than me. I'd also like to know if I have her to blame for this nose," she says with a wry smile. "Most of all, though, I wonder where she is, and if she ever thinks about me. But I wouldn't say I was mad at her." Rachel glances at Puck, but he's still staring out into the distance.

"Have you ever thought about looking for her? Or about what you'd say to her if you found her?"

"Honestly, I've been too afraid. I don't want to hurt my dads by asking about her. But if I ever find her, I'd like to ask why she did it. I mean, I know the compensation was fairly substantial, but I can't imagine it was an easy decision for her to make. But Noah, at least your daughter will know about you. She'll never wonder why her parents didn't want her." _Not like I do, _Rachel thinks, but doesn't say aloud.

Puck cocks his head at her, as if he knows what she is thinking, but he doesn't comment. Finally, he says, "Come on, it's getting late. I should probably get you home."

They are both quiet on the ride to her house. As Rachel is about to open her door, Puck grabs her arm, and says softly, "Hey, Berry…_Rachel._ Thanks."

She smiles, and impulsively leans over and kisses him on the cheek. "You're welcome." A strange look crosses his face, and she pulls back a little nervously._ Oops, are we at an appropriate stage in our friendship for it to be okay for me to do that?_

His mouth lifts into his signature smirk, and he says, "So, Berry, now that we're _both_ single, _now _can we make out?"

She rolls her eyes at him. "Good night, Noah," she says with a smile, and steps out of the truck.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: In case it's not clear, _[italicized text in brackets]_ indicates text messages. **

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Puck pulls into a parking space at the far end of the school parking lot and glances at his reflection in the rearview mirror, running his hand over his fully shaven head. He still hasn't quite gotten used to seeing himself without the mohawk. He had to shave it off due to his mom's overreaction to what ended up being a benign mole, but truthfully, he's not sure if he wants it back; as badass as it was, it was a _bitch_ to maintain. He notices movement in the corner of the mirror and turns to see three guys in letterman jackets tossing someone into the dumpster, followed by a familiar pink bag. _Oh, shit. _He hops out of his truck and sprints across the lot towards them, but he's much too far away, and the guys disappear through the school doors before they even realize they were being chased. Puck changes direction and heads over to the eerily quiet dumpster. He's a little surprised Berry isn't screaming bloody murder and threatening to sic the ACLU on everyone's asses.

"Uh, Berry? You dead in there?"

There is enough garbage in the bin for Rachel to sit up and peer over the edge. She cocks an eyebrow at him before disappearing inside again. Her bag comes flying out at Puck, who reflexively catches it. As he sets it on the ground, he see her small hands grip the edge of the dumpster as she carefully pulls herself up and swings her jean-covered legs over the side so that she is perched on the rim. She surveys the distance to the ground and looks at him uncertainly.

"Wait," he says, moving closer to the dumpster. He reaches up and puts his hands on both sides of her thighs. "Put your hands on my shoulders, and jump." Rachel complies, and he catches her, sliding her down his body until her feet gently touch the ground. She tilts her head back and blinks up at him with her big brown eyes. Puck realizes that his hands have settled around her waist and he's holding her close against his body, and her arms are still on his shoulders, almost in an embrace. He lets her go abruptly, steps back and jams his hands in his pockets. She is still unnervingly silent, and it's beginning to freak him out.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? Who were those guys? And why aren't you yelling at me using impossibly long words?" He watches as she digs into her bag, pulls out her phone, and taps the keys rapidly. "Who the _fuck_ are you texting?"

She sends him a withering glare that clearly says, _You, you idiot,_ as his phone beeps, signaling a message.

_[I have laryngitis, so I've taken a vow of silence in order to recover without damaging my voice.]_

He looks up from his phone and snorts. "Vow of silence? You?" She glares at him again. "Sorry." She begins tapping again furiously.

_[I wouldn't have even come to school today except we have that History test. I asked Mrs. Bergmann if I could retake it later, but since she hates me so much, she wouldn't let me miss it since I'm not actually running a temperature.]_

"Wait, we're in the same History class. We have a test today? Shit." She rolls her eyes. "Okay, that explains the silence. Now who were those guys? Wait, did Jesse have something to do with it?"

Rachel looks surprised. _[No, of course not. He may be a jerk, but he would never physically harm me. Why would you think he was involved in this?]_

Puck shrugs. "I dunno, because he's upset that you guys are done? You _are_ done, right?"

She nods. _[I spoke to him on the phone when he got back from San Diego. He explained that he was upset and got drunk, and one of his friends took the picture of him with that girl. Apparently this friend has a crush on Jesse, and she was the one who texted me the picture. I told him that I understand, but it's still over. He has kept trying to contact me, but I don't think there's really anything left to say. I believe he'll get the hint eventually.] _

This last text is sent to Puck over several messages. After he reads the last message, he rolls his eyes at her. "You know, there are character limits for a reason, crazy girl. Can't you abbreviate like normal people do?"

She glares at him. _[I refuse to butcher the English language in that way.] _

"Whatever, it's a lot easier. Anyway, so if Jesse didn't do it, then who _did _throw you in the dumpster? They were too far away for me to see."

Rachel eyes him appraisingly. _[I don't know if I should tell you]_, she texts.

"Why the hell not?"

_[Because your default reaction to nearly everything is violence.] _He glances up at her, and his phone beeps again. _[Not that I would expect you to stand up for me, of course. But we are teammates, and I know you don't let people "mess" with your team. I don't want you to get hurt because of me.]_

What the hell? _Teammates? _Okay, he may not have been broadcasting the fact that they were friends to the whole school or anything, but he thought _she _at least knew that they were. "Okay, first of all, I would _not_ get hurt. I could totally take, um, Tom Davis?" he guesses, naming one of the hockey players. She shakes her head. "Joey Marquez?"

_[No.]_

"Fine. But I will find out. Because no one pulls this shit on my _friends,_" he says, looking at her pointedly. She looks down, but not before he sees her happy smile at his words. "Well, what if I promise not to kick their asses?"

_[Then why would it matter?] _

"There are other things I can do to make them miserable besides beating the shit out of those guys," he informs her (for instance, he could tell Rutherford and Chang, who would then proceed to beat the shit out of them. Hey, as long as he didn't throw any punches himself, _technically_, he would be keeping his promise, right?). Just then, the bell rings, signaling the beginning of first period, and Rachel looks panicked. "Relax. You can't go to class like that anyway. We need to get you out of those clothes." He sees a blush creep across her face, and he smirks. "Chill, Berry. We'll get you cleaned up, and you can make it to second period to take the test. Do you have any extra clothes?"

_[Just the clothes I brought for dance class this afternoon, but I suppose I can wear them for the whole day. I usually keep an extra set of regular clothes in my locker, but I forgot to replace them after the last time I was slushied.]_

The pair starts walking towards the girls' locker room, as Rachel combs her hair with her fingers, trying to remove some of the garbage that had gotten caught. Puck resumes their previous conversation. "So, are you gonna tell me who did this?"

_[Mark Johnson and two of his friends from the soccer team, I don't know their names. One's really tall and blonde, and the other is about your height, brown hair and blue eyes.]_

That sounded like Roger Collins and Ben Cohen. Right, Matt and Mike would be paying each of them visits shortly, right after they'd taken care of Johnson. "So why'd they do it? The soccer team hasn't really messed with anyone from Glee, it's usually just the jackasses from football and hockey."

He watches as a weirdly Puck-like smirk forms on her lips. Is it strange that he finds it kind of sexy? _[Probably because I gave Mark a black eye.]_

Puck stops and stares at her. "You _what_?"

_[I went to the movies with him last weekend. He kept trying to feel me up, and he wouldn't stop, so I left. He followed me out into the lobby, said some really awful things, and then tried to drag me back in to the theater. I was merely defending myself.]_

"Berry, you're like half his height. How did you even _reach_ his eye?"

She smirks again. Seriously, _so_ hot. _[I kneed him in the groin first. I've been taking self-defense classes for two years. All women should know how to protect themselves.]_

He returns the grin. "I'm impressed, Berry. You gave the captain of the soccer team a black eye, and he needed to bring _back-up_ to retaliate. That's pretty badass." He holds his hand up. "High five." She slaps his hand with her own uncertainly (which he definitely does not find cute. Nope, not at all). They resume walking. "So what did he say to you? At the theater?"

_[He talked about Finn, and Jesse, and you. He said he thought I'd be easy, because there had to be a reason the three of you would date me.]_

He clenches his fists. _Asshole._ "That's bullshit." She smiles at him.

As they reach the door to the girls' locker room, his phone chimes. _[Thank you, Noah, for helping me out of the dumpster. But shouldn't you get to class?]_

He shrugs. "I've already missed the first ten minutes. I'll just wait for you, and we'll go to second period together. Uh, you wouldn't happen to have notes for History that I could study from, do you?" She rolls her eyes and pulls out a stack of note cards (incredibly detailed and color-coded, naturally) from her bag. "Sweet!"

He moves to follow her through the door, and she stops him, wide-eyed. _[What are you doing? This is the GIRLS' locker room!]_

"Not like I haven't been here before, babe," Puck says with a smirk. "And anyway, where else can I go? I don't want to be caught in the halls and get detention." Actually, he knows the chances of him getting caught (much less getting detention) are pretty low, since the first period hall monitors are usually in the second floor janitor's closet getting stoned. However, he's willing to bet that Rachel has never cut a class in her life and doesn't know that. She chews on her lower lip in thought, then nods and steps through the door.

_[But no peeking.]_

Puck holds his hands up. "I swear. I'll stay here and study while you get cleaned off." He sits down on the long bench running down the aisle between two rows of lockers. "See? Right here." She flashes a smile and makes her way to the showers. A few minutes later, he hears the metal squeak of the spout and water splashing on the tile floor.

Puck leans back and lies down on the bench. He thinks about how many naked girls have been in this room, and tries very hard _NOT_ to think about the one naked girl who currently _is_ in it. _She's your friend. Don't fuck it up. _He wonders about this weird…thing he and Rachel have developed in the last few months. They avoided each other after the break up of their short relationship in the fall, but after Babygate broke, she had made an effort to be nice to him – the first Glee practice after Sectionals, she came into the room and sat right next to him, asking him how his day was, as if his whole life hadn't just imploded – and well, it's not like a lot there were a lot of other people trying to be his friend at that point. So, he started kind of looking out for her (he thinks maybe it's his way of atoning for the all the messed up things he himself had done to her) – he took the Glist off her locker; he sat next to her in Glee when the others were being little bitches; he followed Matt and Mike to the diner that one day to make sure they didn't do anything shitty like leave her stranded there. Come to think of it, since that day, Puck's ended up hanging out with the three of them quite a bit. And the more time he spends with her, the more he realizes that he really likes her, as, like, a _person_. One that just happens to be wrapped up in a super-hot, short-skirted little package. Anyway, Rachel's a friend, and since at the moment he has so few, he'd like to keep her as one, so he's in the unfamiliar position of trying _not_ to get into a hot girl's pants.

However. If she ever gives him some sign that she's into him? He'd have her on her back with _those legs_ wrapped around his waist in about ten seconds flat.

Trying to keep his mind from straying into dangerous territory, Puck sits up and reaches for the note cards covered in her small, neat handwriting and attempts to study. The shower shuts off, and a few minutes later he hears her footsteps approaching. His jaw drops as she rounds the corner and comes into view. She's dressed in fitted black leggings that hug her shapely ass and amazing legs, and a skin-tight lycra tank top that reveals her tanned shoulders, toned arms, and a decent amount of cleavage. As she walks, she's pulling her damp hair into a ponytail, and her raised arms are doing _fascinating_ things to her chest. _Friend, Puckerman, FRIEND!_

"You can't wear that out," he tells her flatly. She looks down at herself, and then up at him, her eyes questioning. Puck pulls off his McKinley High sweatshirt and tosses it to her.

Rachel catches it, but doesn't put it on. Instead, she fishes her phone out of her bag. _[I know these clothes are a little tighter than what I normally wear, but I'm perfectly within the parameters of McKinley's dress code.] _

"Put it on," he practically growls. She huffs a little, but complies. The sweatshirt engulfs her, but she looks kind of adorable (_fuck_, he did not just think that). He feels weirdly _possessive_, seeing her in his clothes (but he doesn't tell her, because she'd probably call him a sexist caveman or something). "You look good, more than good, in fact, but you'd probably start a riot." She blinks at him, her face turns a little pink, and he adds, "Jewfro would be humping your leg like the Energizer Bunny, you'd never be able to get him off. Well, you would, but -" Rachel smacks his shoulder, the disgust evident in her expression, and he laughs. "Come on, we'd better get out of here before people start coming back from gym class."

They exit the locker room and head towards their History class. "Hey, how do you end up at the movies with Johnson anyway? He's an asshole."

Rachel shrugs. _[Well, I didn't know. His sister is in my ballet class. He came to pick her up one day, we began talking, and he asked if I wanted to see a movie with him. Matt and Mike had suggested that I date people outside of Glee, so I agreed.]_

Wait, why the hell was she taking dating advice from the Wonder Twins? Yeah, he needed to have a little chat with Rutherford and Chang. Pushing that thought aside for later, Puck lets his eyes sweep over her. "When he asked you out, were you wearing something like what you're wearing now? Well, minus the sweatshirt." She nods. "Ah." He slings an arm around her shoulder. "So, do all the girls in your class dress like that, and can I come watch?"

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After spectacularly failing his History exam (hey, not even Rachel Berry's notes could make up for three weeks' worth of missed classes) Puck finds Matt at his locker, and socks him in the arm. "Dude, why the fuck are you and Chang telling Berry to date assholes?"

Matt looks confused as he rubs his shoulder. "We didn't tell her to…_oh_. No, Mike and I said that she probably shouldn't date any of the other guys in Glee."

Puck glares at him. "Why the hell not?"

"Well, when she dated guys that were in Glee, it caused all this tension in the group. There's the whole thing with Finn and Quinn, Jesse was the enemy so Kurt and Mercedes were pissed at her, and you…well, both Quinn and Santana were jealous when you serenaded her." Matt cocks his head. "Why do you _care _who she dates?"

Matt's smile is a little too knowing for Puck's taste. He forgets sometimes how good Matt is at reading people. "I don't. Whatever. Did you know about Berry and Johnson?"

Matt grins. "Yeah, she called me that night to pick her up. Fucking badass, right? Do you know he's going around telling everyone that the Carmel soccer team jumped him in the mall parking lot?" He notes Puck's scowl and continues hurriedly, "She asked me not to tell anyone. Especially not you."

Puck's expression darkens further. He's a little pissed that Rachel called Matt instead of him. "Why 'especially' not me?"

"Probably because she knew you'd react exactly how you are right now."

"Yeah, well, Johnson and two other soccer pricks threw her in a dumpster this morning."

"_What_?" Matt looks outraged. "So why are we not kicking their asses?"

"I promised Berry I wouldn't."

"_I_ didn't."

"No, but I have another idea. We can destroy Johnson, and still beat him and the two little bitches who helped him down later."

Matt raises an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind? Because, no offense, but the last time you had an idea, I ended up in my underwear, stranded at Roosevelt High with a live goat and a case of beer. The security guard thought I was some kind of pervert."

"Yeah, but this one will totally work. Does your brother still work at the theater?"

"Yeah, he's assistant manager now. Why?"

"Told you, I've got a plan."

By lunch that day, Jacob Ben-Israel's blog has an exclusive scoop: surveillance footage from the Lima Cineplex of Mark Johnson, captain of the soccer team, getting his ass handed to him by a girl half his size. The video is a little grainy, and the girl in question has her back to the camera and is unidentifiable, but Mark is clearly visible. He spends the rest of the school day fending off ridicule and comments about how dangerous Carmel's girls' soccer team is. Puck is pretty damned pleased with himself. He managed to ruin the guy's reputation and make him look like a fool in front of the entire student body, all without throwing a single punch. He feels it shows personal growth, or whatever. Of course, he probably will find an excuse to kick Johnson's ass at some point, just to ease his sense of vengeance. He wonders why keeping his promise to Rachel is so important to him. It's not like he's ever cared about breaking promises to other girls before. But it's just that she really seems to believe that his underneath his "boorish, crude exterior" (totally her words, not his, obviously) he's this good guy, and, well, he doesn't want to disappoint her.

Also? The smile she gives him when he sees her after school that day, like he just handed her a Tony? Makes it _totally_ worth it.

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**A/N 2: So, this story is AU, but I really loved the idea of Rachel having laryngitis and not being able to speak, and I thought it would be fun to use it. ****I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again for all the reviews/alerts/favorites!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter! I hope you enjoy reading! Also, I still don't own Glee or its characters, unfortunately.**

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Rachel thinks she must be dreaming. She had stayed home from school for several days to completely recover from laryngitis, and had taken a multitude of vitamins and herbal remedies. Perhaps echinacea causes hallucinations? Because she has no other way to explain why Brittany is currently walking to class with her. As they walk, Rachel fakes a stumble, and Brittany reaches out and grabs her elbow to steady her. Not a hallucination then. What else could it be?

"Brittany," Rachel says, interrupting the blonde's story about how she thinks her cat picked the lock on her diary with its claws. "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you talking to me? In public?"

Brittany blinks at her. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Um, because I'm a social pariah?"

"My uncle has a pariah! It's not very nice though, it bites me when I try to feed it crackers." Brittany's expression turns puzzled. "But you don't have wings."

"No," Rachel says quickly. "I mean, people generally don't want to be seen with me in public. They draw obscene pictures of me in the bathroom. Actually, I'm fairly sure you've drawn a couple of them yourself."

"Oh, that," Brittany says with a shrug. "Santana said that I didn't have to be mean to you anymore. I'm glad, because you seem really nice, especially since you don't yell at us as much in Glee anymore."

Rachel stares at the Cheerio for a second. She wonders if it could really be that easy; when the blonde resumes the story about her cat, Rachel realizes that, yes, it _is_ that easy for Brittany. As they reach the end of the corridor, Brittany waves cheerfully as the girls part ways, and Rachel heads to first period pondering why _Santana_ would do something nice for her (and also, if it were really possible for a cat to pick a lock with its claws).

When she reaches the door to her classroom, she pauses. Her first period English class is one of three she shares with Jacob Ben-Israel, and the only one in which there is no assigned seating. If Jacob sees Rachel before class starts, he always moves to a desk closer to her (or at least to a desk from which he can ogle her legs). She manages to sneak in behind a group of students, and settles in to a desk two rows behind Jacob just as the bell rings. From across the room, Quinn nods at her in greeting, and Rachel considers asking her after class if she knows what Santana is up to.

About twenty minutes before the end of class, Mrs. Gallagher announces that they have the rest of the period free. "I suggest you use this time to work on your group projects. Remember, your presentations are in two weeks – do _not_ leave it to the last minute."

Rachel's head snaps up. _Group project?_ She _hates_ group projects; no one ever seems to want to work with her (well, except for Jacob), so she always winds up with random people who couldn't find other people to work with either, _and _she usually ends up doing most of the work. It's just her luck that a group project was assigned during her absence from school, _and_ in one of the classes she has with Jacob. She sees him walking towards her with a particularly repulsive smile on his face and she cringes, preparing herself for two weeks of inappropriate innuendo and barely concealed sexual harassment. She is surprised, however, when he continues past her desk to join a group of boys sitting behind her (although he does lick his lips lasciviously at her as he passes). Puzzled, Rachel gets up to ask Mrs. Gallagher who she will be working with when she hears her name being called.

"Rachel! Over here!" Quinn waves her over to where she is sitting with a handsome boy that Rachel doesn't know. Pleased and relieved, Rachel makes her way over and sits beside her group. "Welcome back," Quinn says with a smile. "Feeling better?"

Rachel nods. "Good as new, thanks." She turns to the unfamiliar boy and sticks out her hand. "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry."

"I know," he says with a grin, shaking her hand. "I'm Jason."

Frowning, Rachel asks, "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"Well, we've been in the same English class all year, but no, I guess we haven't actually met. I know who you are though. I'm on the soccer team."

"Oh," Rachel says, eyes widening. "Er – I don't see why that would be relevant..." She looks around quickly and drops her voice to a whisper. "Look, I don't know what Mark told you, but I assure you, my actions were _perfectly_ justified –"

Jason holds his hands up to stop her. "Whoa, no, you don't understand. I wanted to _thank_ you. I've wanted to deck Mark Johnson since the sixth grade. He's a jackass, and he's been even worse since he became captain of the team."

Rachel relaxes. "Oh, okay. Wait, does anyone else know that it was me?" Belatedly, she turns to Quinn, who has been following the entire conversation with interest.

"Well," Quinn says, shrugging, "Puck told me, and I may have mentioned it to Mercedes, who probably told the rest of Glee. I doubt anyone else knows though."

"A couple of guys on the team know, but they won't say anything," Jason adds. "And Mark is _definitely _keeping quiet about the whole thing."

Rachel smiles in relief. "Okay. Anyway, I'm sorry, we should be discussing our assignment. What is this presentation we're supposed to be working on?"

Quinn and Jason explain the details of the project. Quinn mentions that they were thinking about making a video presentation, and Rachel's eyes light up in excitement. She suggests asking Artie for help, since he'd done such a good job with the _Run Joey Run_ video (yes, she admits that the song was pretty horrible, and it did cause her boyfriend to dump her, but neither of those things were Artie's fault). Jason says they haven't yet decided on a topic, although Quinn does wryly request that they avoid _The Scarlet Letter. _Jason smiles at her, and assures her that they'll figure something out. The bell rings, signaling the end of the period, and the group makes plans to meet after school. Rachel waits as Quinn gathers her things, and she thanks Quinn for choosing her to be in the group.

Quinn shrugs. "No problem. When Mrs. Gallagher announced the project the other day, Jacob's hand shot up so fast I'm surprised he didn't pull something. He volunteered to have you in his group, but I said that we'd already picked you. Jason didn't mind."

"Well, thanks. I don't think I could have taken two weeks of Jacob."

"I don't think _anyone_ could," Quinn says, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Anyway, I'll see you later."

Rachel exits the classroom, and starts walking toward her History class. She doesn't realize there is someone waiting for her until she hears her name being called, but that could be because Santana Lopez is about the _last_ person Rachel would ever expect to be waiting to talk to her. Santana falls into step with her. "Walk with me, Berry."

Rachel raises an eyebrow. "_Why?_" she asks a little suspiciously.

"Because I have something to say to you," the Cheerio replies, "and it would behoove you to listen." Rachel looks at her incredulously. "What?" Santana says. "I know what 'behoove' means, I have the ninth highest GPA in our class. I just don't flaunt it."

"Well, okay," Rachel says hesitantly. The two girls walk down the hall in silence for a while, ignoring the blatant stares they are receiving from the other students, who are obviously dying to know why the popular cheerleader is slumming it with the Glee freak. A thought occurs to Rachel. "Wait, is this some sort of trap? Are you going to lure me into a classroom so that a group of miscreants can douse me in honey and feathers and call me Big Bird for the rest of the day?"

"No," Santana says, surprised. She tilts her head thoughtfully. "That's not bad though, I may use it."

Oops. Rachel silently apologizes to whatever poor soul is on the receiving end of that future prank. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Santana glances at her. "Are you really the girl in the video? You gave Mark Johnson the black eye?"

Rachel throws her hands up. "Seriously? Does _everybody _ know?"

"Okay, drama queen." Santana rolls her eyes. "I guess that answers my question."

"Why do you want to know?" Rachel asks.

The cheerleader narrows her eyes. "Because Mark Johnson is a total dick."

"Yes, that seems to be the consensus," Rachel says with a sigh. "Perhaps I should do a background check on the next guy that asks me out. What did Mark do?"

"He made Brittany cry," Santana says with a scowl. "No one does that and gets away with it. But since you got to him first, you saved me the trouble."

Ah. That explains Brittany's friendliness earlier. Still, Rachel wonders if this merely a temporary truce. "So, what happens now?"

Santana shrugs. "Look, you're kind of annoying. You walk around like you're better than everyone else, no matter what people say about you or how many slushies you get in the face." Rachel opens her mouth to protest, but Santana shakes her head. "I'm not finished. But you stuck up for me at Sectionals when everyone else thought I was spying for Coach Sylvester, and you've shown that you actually have a spine. Plus, you seem to have removed the stick that was up your ass, and you're…not that bad. I'm not saying that we start making friendship bracelets or whatever, but…we're cool."

Rachel recognizes this as Santana's version of an apology, and since she was willing to take the first step and make one, Rachel supposes there is no point in holding a grudge. "Santana, you've made the last five years of my life completely miserable. I don't know if I can forget all of it, just like that," Rachel says. "But I'm willing to move past it, if you are."

"Fair enough." Santana says with a nod. "So, is it true that you got the original Glee coach fired?"

Rachel raises an eyebrow. "How did you know about that? I thought Principal Figgins kept my complaint anonymous."

Santana smirks. "Nothing happens at this school without me knowing about it."

"Except for your boyfriend knocking up one of your best friends," Rachel says without thinking. She claps her hand over her mouth. _Oops. Well, that was probably the shortest truce ever._

However, Santana looks unperturbed. "Nice burn, Berry. See? You're so much more interesting now."

They've reached Rachel's classroom, so the Cheerio says goodbye and heads off to her own class. Rachel settles in to the first empty desk she finds and muses over the strangely eventful morning she's had. She's startled when someone flops noisily in to the desk next to hers, and she looks up to find Puck smirking at her.

"Hey, Berry," he greets her. "Word has it that you and Santana were having a heart-to-heart out in the hallway earlier."

Rachel is slightly impressed by the speed at which gossip travels at McKinley. "Hello, Noah. Yes, Santana and I had a pleasant conversation on the way to class. She's decided that I'm 'not that bad,'" Rachel says, using finger quotes.

"Hell, that's high praise, coming from Santana," Puck says with a grin. "So, does this mean you'll start giving each other manicures and having sexy sleepovers and shit?" A dreamy look crosses his face. "That would be _so_ hot."

"What? No! We just agreed that…" Rachel notices that Puck is still staring off into space. "Noah?"

"Oh, look," he says in a faraway voice. "Now the two of you are having a pillow fight…"

"Noah Puckerman!" she snaps. "Stop being gross!"

He laughs. "It's my head, Berry. What are you gonna do about it?" The bell rings before Rachel can reply, and Mrs. Bergman stands up to begin the lesson.

"Noah," Rachel hisses, trying to get his attention.

"Rachel Berry!" the teacher says sharply. "You are being highly disrespectful to me and to your classmates. I would think that you would be trying to pay attention, given the amount of material you've missed in your absence."

Rachel grits her teeth, but says in a reasonably apologetic tone, "I'm sorry for the interruption, Mrs. Bergmann. I was merely trying to borrow a pen from my classmate." The teacher warns her to be prepared for class next time, and resumes the lecture.

"Yeah, Berry, I'm trying to learn here," Puck whispers loudly. Rachel glares at him, but he's already preparing to take a nap, putting his head down onto his arms, his shoulders still shaking in silent laughter. _Honestly_, she fumes to herself. _Why does he even bother to show up for class? _

The rest of the class passes without incident. When the bell rings, Puck wakes up from his nap and stretches, smiling lazily at Rachel. She makes a face and he laughs, nodding a goodbye as he gets up from his desk to leave. Before he goes, he tosses a packet of papers onto Rachel's desk, and saunters out the door. Confused, she unfolds the packet and smoothes out the papers, which are covered in Puck's messy scrawl. Her jaw drops when she realizes that they are notes from the History classes she had missed while she was out sick. Her stomach does a little flip, and she can't stop the huge smile that crosses her face.

* * *

Shortly before lunch, Mike sends Rachel a text: _[Heard ur back. Lunch in prac rm w/ me & Matt?]_ Rachel smiles and texts back an affirmative. She's a little ashamed to admit it, but during her absence she had had some very insecure moments, and she'd worried that Matt and Mike would realize they didn't like her after all and shun her or something equally horrible. One thing about staying home for a week - it certainly gave you _plenty _of time to sit and obsess over things. When she arrives at the practice room, both boys are already sitting on the risers, their lunches spread out before them. Mike meets her at the door, picks her up and swings her around. "Welcome back!" he says with a grin, setting her down. Matt greets her as well, albeit much more sedately. Rachel joins them on the risers and gets out her own lunch.

Matt makes a face at her spinach salad, and takes a giant bite of his pepperoni pizza slice. "So," he says after he finishes chewing. "I hear you, Brittany, and Santana are all friends now. That's great!"

"Well, I don't know if I go so far as to say we're _friends _yet," Rachel says, "but we seem to have reached an understanding." She smiles at Matt and Mike. "But thank you for all your help. I don't think it would have happened at all without the two of you."

Matt shrugs. "We didn't really _do _anything."

"We just helped you unleash your inner awesomeness," Mike adds with a grin.

Rachel giggles. She tells them about her morning, and they fill her in on all the gossip that she missed while she was gone. The topic of Regionals inevitably comes up, and Rachel asks if Jesse has been showing up for Glee practice.

Matt shakes his head. "Nope. I don't think he's officially quit or anything, but Mr. Schue said that he would reassign Jesse's solos if he doesn't come to practice tomorrow."

Rachel feels dreadful. It had never occurred to her that Jesse would quit Glee once they were no longer dating. She had believed he was a consummate professional, and would honor his obligation to the group despite his personal feelings for her; apparently, she was mistaken. "It's all my fault. The only reason he transferred to McKinley was to be with me. Now there's nothing stopping him from transferring back to Carmel, and he'll tell Vocal Adrenaline _everything_ about us."

"So, what are you supposed to do, date Jesse until after Regionals?" Matt says, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well, I _am_ captain, and I should be willing to make that sacrifice for the good of the group."

"Rachel, that's stupid," Mike interjects. "No one's asking you to date someone you don't want to date just so we can have a better shot at winning Regionals."

"Fine," Rachel says. "But I want to let it be known that I _would_ do it."

Mike rolls his eyes. "Noted."

"Still, I should probably talk to him. Perhaps I can convince him to stay. Or, at the very least, maybe I can persuade him not to sell us out to Vocal Adrenaline," Rachel says hopefully. She doubts it will do any good, but she knows she'd feel better if she at least attempted to make peace with her ex.

* * *

After school, Rachel sits at a table outside with Jason, waiting for Quinn so that they can work on their English project. Jason is quite talkative and friendly, and they chat amiably as they wait. It turns out Jason and Quinn have known each other for years, since their fathers both work at the same firm, although they had sort of drifted apart after they reached high school. As he enthusiastically recounts some stories about their adventures when they were kids, Rachel secretly thinks Jason has a crush on Quinn, although she doesn't say so out loud. She giggles when he tells her about how Quinn had forced him to practice cheers with her when she first started cheerleading.

Quinn walks up to their table and overhears the last part of Jason's story. "Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it, Jason," she says with a laugh, motioning for him to scoot down the bench so that she can sit.

Rachel fishes through her bag for her notebook and a pen so that she can take notes. As she does so, she notices a prickling sensation on the back of her neck, as if someone is watching her. Glancing around, she locks eyes with Puck, who is standing with Matt by the parking lot. His eyes flick over to Jason and Quinn before he turns and walks toward his truck. She feels a familiar sinking feeling in her chest; she's felt this way before, back when another boy looked at this very same girl instead of at her. Rachel tells herself that it's for the best anyway. She'd thought a lot about Puck while she was out sick, and she'd come to the conclusion that while it was perfectly natural for her to have developed a crush on Puck (yes, she'd made a list of his positive attributes. She'd also made a list of ways to get Kurt to like her. Hey, she'd been out of school for an entire week, she had to keep herself occupied _somehow_), she values their friendship too much to ruin it by revealing her feelings. After all, there's no way Puck could feel the same way about her, right?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I am so, so sorry for the delay on this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the first season on DVD.**

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Rachel is avoiding him. There's no other way to explain it. Yes, she probably did have lots of work to make up from the week she had missed, but that doesn't explain why she's been sliding into her desk in History class right before the bell rings for the last few days, or why she's dashed out right when class ends with barely a "goodbye." And during Glee practice, she somehow manages to _always_ be on the other side of the room from him.

Honestly, Puck's feelings are a little hurt. He actually went to class while she was out sick - and _stayed awake_ to take notes. Doesn't she realize how _boring_ that shit was?

In the cafeteria, Puck stares moodily at Rachel, who is sitting a few tables away with Artie, Quinn, and the preppy douche bag. Okay, maybe that's a little unfair; from what he's heard, Jason Bell is a pretty good guy. Although Puck doesn't know the guy personally, he's one of those super-involved students that everyone knows _of_, and he's practically a saint: Eagle Scout, honor roll, Student Council Treasurer, soccer star, tutors elementary school kids on Tuesdays. Basically, he's a parent's wet dream, and he's exactly the type of guy that Rachel should be dating.

Puck feels something smack him in the forehead, and he sees a French fry land on his tray. He looks up to see Matt smirking at him. "Dude, what the hell?" he asks with a glare.

He shrugs. "Just trying to get your attention."

"So now you have it, what do you want?"

"What's up with you?" Matt asks. "You've been in a pissy mood all week. I mean, it's not like you're all sweetness and light to begin with, but nerds are throwing _themselves_ into trash cans when they see you coming."

Puck snorts. "It's nothing." Matt merely raises an eyebrow. Puck knows he's not going to let it go until he gets an answer, so he decides to tell him part of the truth. "Quinn's moving out this weekend."

Matt looks genuinely surprised. "Really? Where is she going? Are her parents taking her back?"

"Nah. Apparently, she and Mercedes are like BFFs now, or whatever, and she's got a spare room that Quinn can stay in."

"What made her decide to leave?"

"Well," Puck says with a shrug. "Quinn and my mom couldn't stand each other, so anyway, it'll probably better for the baby. At least I'll still get to go to the doctor's appointments and stuff, so whatever."

Matt nods his head. "That's cool." He pauses, but when Puck doesn't say anything else, he rolls his eyes. "Well, obviously Quinn moving out doesn't bother you that much, so it has to be Rachel that has you all upset."

_Damn him._ "I don't know what you're talking about," Puck says.

Matt sighs. "Please. Ever since Rachel came back, she's been avoiding you like the plague, and you keep staring at her when you think no one's looking. What happened?"

"I don't know why she's avoiding me." Puck glances over at her table again as Rachel starts giggling at something Jason says, and he turns back to Matt. "Anyway, she seems fine to me. Just drop it, okay?" He can practically _see _the wheels in Matt's head turning.

"Fine," Matt says, "But seriously, dude? Just _talk_ to her."

Puck scowls. "Dude, don't you think I've tried? She's like a fucking _ninja_. Outside of History class, I haven't been within five feet of her all week. It's like she can sense when I'm coming." He gets up to leave. "I gotta go."

Matt nods. "Hey," he adds. Puck pauses. "They're just working on a project. You have nothing to worry about."

Puck shakes his head. "Whatever. He's perfect for her." He dumps the trash off of his tray and glances back at Rachel, who is leaning over to read something in Jason's notebook, her dark head nearly touching his blonde one. _Ugh_. He needs to let off some steam, and he knows just where to find someone to help him do it.

Santana lets out a bark of laughter as she slams her locker door shut. "Seriously, Puck? 'We've got ten minutes 'til class starts, let's fuck.' Is that the best you can do?"

Puck scowls. "What? It's worked before."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, but before, you just wanted to get off, and I've got no problem with that. But I'm not gonna be a stand-in while you're thinking about somebody else."

"Whatever, half the time I was with you I was pretending you were Megan Fox."

"Liar," Santana smirks. "That skinny skank has nothing on me, and you know it."

"Fine, I'll just find some other girl," Puck says. "It won't be hard. There are still_ lots_ of girls who wanna ride on the Puckerman Express." Santana smacks the back of his head. "Ow! What the hell, woman?"

"God, you're such an _idiot_," she scoffs. "Don't fuck this up. Just tell her you like her already, and then you can start finding out what she's got under those hideous sweaters."

_Dude, does everyone know? _Puck tries to play it off. "What are you talking about?"

"Please, she might as well have a sign around your balls that says 'Property of Rachel Berry,'" Santana says.

Puck sighs and leans back against the wall of lockers. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Look, it's been kind of amusing watching you stumble around learning about 'feelings' and all, like some kind of emotional Bambi," she says, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "But this is getting kind of pathetic. Stake your damn claim already."

The bell rings, signaling the end of the lunch period. Students start pouring out of the cafeteria and into the hall, heading to their various classes. Puck scans the crowd until he spots Rachel walking with Jason and Quinn. Scowling, he turns back to Santana, who has spotted Rachel as well.

"Stake your claim, Puck," she repeats with a smirk. "Before someone else does." She turns to go, the skirt of her Cheerios uniform swirling around her legs.

"How?" Puck asks, mostly to himself.

"Figure it out, dumbass!" Santana calls.

"I hate you!"

"No, you don't!" She waves dismissively, not bothering to turn around.

Okay, no, he doesn't hate her. It's Santana; he probably shouldn't have expected her to have any romantic advice for him anyway.

* * *

After school, Puck decides to take out some of his frustration by lifting weights. It doesn't really help. He hits the showers and is shoving his workout clothes into his bag when the locker room door swings open.

"Hey, Puck!" Mike looks relieved to see him.

"'Sup?"

"Are you doing anything right now? Like, do you need to go pick up Sarah or anything?"

Puck shakes his head. "Nope. My mom has the day off, so she picked up Sarah today. Why?"

"Well, I was supposed to help Rachel work on something for her dance recital, but my dad just called and I have to take my grandma to the hospital right now. Do you think you could take Rachel home?"

"Yeah, sure. Is your grandma okay?" He asks, concerned. Mike's grandma is kind of awesome - whenever Puck goes to the Changs' house, the old lady sits him down at the table and piles all sorts of food in front of him. He might not know what it all is, but it's usually delicious.

"Yeah, it's just a check-up. My dad was supposed to take her, but he just found out he has to work late."

"Dude, go," Puck says, giving Mike a little shove. "I'll take Berry home."

Mike smiles gratefully. "Thanks. I'll tell her to meet you out front." He's already halfway out the door.

Puck finishes packing up and makes his way towards the front entrance of the school. He wonders how Rachel will react to the news that he'll be taking her home. He's grateful for the chance to _finally_ corner her.

Even if he hasn't quite figured out what he wants to say to her yet.

Puck pushes the door open and is greeted by the sight of a visibly irritated Rachel pacing back and forth, gesturing wildly as she yells at a bewildered looking Finn. Puck pauses, not really sure what to do. He and Finn still haven't spoken since his rather misguided attempt to patch things up at Sectionals. His curiosity gets the better of him though, and he walks over to them, keeping a safe distance between himself and Finn.

"I can't _believe_ the nerve of him! How dare he imply that New Directions is in _any way inferior_ to Vocal Adrenaline! They may have more members, and some of them may even possess some vocal talent, but they're all flash! At least we have _spirit_! And _heart_! And at least _we_ aren't _soulless robots_!" Rachel pauses. "Do you know what _else_ he said?"

Finn shakes his head mutely, obviously terrified.

Puck hasn't seen a real Rachel Berry-freakout in what seems like forever. Funny how he now finds it so amusing, rather than annoying. Taking pity on Finn, he decides to find out what has her in such a state. "Dude, Rach, take a breath."

Rachel whirls around to face him. "Noah! I didn't see you there!"

"I know. So what's got your panties in a twist?"

Rachel's eyebrows draw together in a scowl. "My idiotic ex-boyfriend!"

Puck is taken aback, and glances at Finn. Finn's eyes widen and he shakes his head. "Not me! Jesse!"

"That's right!" Rachel agrees. "That pompous, conceited, wretched -"

"Jesse?" Puck says hastily, interrupting her before she can get started again. "What did that talking ass crack do now?"

Rachel gapes at him. "Talking…Noah, really? Do you have to be so crude?"

"Yes," he answers bluntly. "Now what did he do?"

"He tricked me into meeting him in the practice room. I thought Mr. Schue wanted to discuss song choices for Regionals, but really, Jesse just wanted to talk to me. He told me that he was going back to Vocal Adrenaline, but that he needed to confess something first, and then he just started _insulting_ New Directions!" Her outraged expression is back.

"I still don't really understand," Finn pipes up.

"He said that I couldn't possibly believe that he would leave a championship-winning glee club for a group full of rank amateurs," Rachel says, the anger in her voice still evident. "_Amateurs_? I've been singing since before I could _speak_! Mercedes grew up in her church choir, and sometimes, when she sings a run, I get _chills_! Noah's been playing the guitar since he was _five, _and he's wonderful! And you may be a newcomer, Finn, but your raw talent is fresh and exciting!_"_

Puck suppresses his grin at her compliment. He's fairly sure she didn't even realize she had just given him one. "So, what did he have to confess?"

Rachel pauses. "What?"

"What was it that he needed to confess before he left?"

"Why, I…I don't know. I didn't actually give him a chance to say much after he insulted our Glee Club." She smiles ruefully. "I've been rather on edge lately, and I suppose I may have taken it out on him. I started yelling at him, and then I threatened to call campus security and have them throw him off the premises for trespassing."

Puck grins and throws his arm around her shoulder. "Babe, our campus security is made up of underpaid, overweight slackers. They're not throwing anyone out of anywhere." He grins down at her, but then notices the pained grimace on her face. He steps back from her, all trace of humor now gone. "Rach? Tell me he didn't physically hurt you."

Rachel touches her upper arm gently. Puck can see that the skin is a little red, and there is a clear imprint of fingers. He runs his fingertips over the marks gently, and a flash of white hot rage passes through him. "I'm gonna rip off his arm and then I'm gonna feed it to him."

Rachel shakes her head. "Noah, it's nothing. He just grabbed my arm to try to stop me from leaving. He didn't intend any harm, and I was able to shake him off fairly easily. That's when Finn showed up, and Jesse left."

Puck looks at Finn, who nods. "It didn't look like he was mad or violent or anything. Still," Finn adds, turning to Rachel, "even if he didn't mean to hurt you, he shouldn't have touched you."

"Right. Which means that he's fair game." Puck stares pointedly at her, and she blinks up at him.

After a few seconds, Finn clears his throat. "Well," he says, his gaze darting between the two of them with interest. "I should get going. It looks like Puck can take you home, Rachel." He pauses and looks straight at Puck. "And if you find that asshole…"

Pucks nods. "I'll let you know." A look of understanding passes between the two, and Finn smiles at them both before he leaves.

Rachel turns to him excitedly. "Oh my gosh, Noah! You and Finn managed to have a conversation, and it didn't end in violence! And I'm fairly sure you two shared a moment at the end there. Of course, you were bonding over beating up my ex-boyfriend, but I suppose it's a start, right?"

"I guess," Puck says with a laugh.

As they start walking towards his truck, Rachel says, "Seriously, though, Noah - please don't go after Jesse. He's not worth the punishment you would undoubtedly receive."

"You know, if you'd just let me beat him up once, maybe he'd stop doing things to you that make me _want_ to beat him up. It's, like, a vicious circle, or whatever."

"Vicious _cycle_," Rachel corrects him automatically. She blinks and cocks her head at him. "Hm, that actually makes a fair amount of sense."

Puck snorts. "Duh."

"I still don't think violence is the answer though, and anyway, you can't risk doing anything that could disqualify you from performing with the Glee club. Anyway," she says with a steely glint in her eyes, "the perfect punishment for Jesse would be completely _destroying_ Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals."

"Then that's what we'll do," Puck agrees easily. He still has every intention of introducing Jesse to his fists; he has no problem with waiting until after they kick ass at Regionals to do it.

"Thank you for taking me home, Noah," Rachel says when they get to his truck.

"No biggie," he says gruffly, unlocking the door. "Couldn't let you walk home. It'd take you _hours_ on those stubby little legs."

Rachel smacks his arm. "My legs are _not_ stubby! I may be petite, but my proportions are fine!"

Puck lets his eyes sweep over her legs. Yeah, he would definitely have to agree. He allows himself another second or two to appreciate her fine proportions before looking back up at her and grinning. "Whatever you say."

As he watches her struggle to pull herself into the cab of his truck, Puck can't help laughing at her. "Need some help, stubby?"

Rachel glares at him as she settles into the seat. "Well, if your truck weren't lifted to such a ridiculous height, I wouldn't have any problem! Really, what is the advantage in driving five feet above all other traffic?"

"Other than being completely badass? I dunno." Puck shrugs, then starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot.

After a few moments of silence, Rachel clears her throat. "So, Noah, I heard that Quinn will be moving in with Mercedes. Are, um, are you okay?"

He glances over at her in confusion. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? She was miserable at my house anyway."

"Oh, I just thought…" Rachel pauses. "I was concerned about you. I know I haven't been around much this week."

"Yeah, what's up with that anyway? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were avoiding me." He pulls to a stop at a light and looks over at her, eyebrows raised pointedly.

She blushes. "No, not at all. I just had a lot of work to catch up on, so I haven't had a lot of free time at school. I should be more available next week."

Puck is pretty sure she's not telling him the whole truth, but he's willing to let it go for now. At least he knows she won't be running away from him anymore. He parks his truck at the curb in front of her house.

Rachel turns to him, her hand poised over the door handle. "Would you like to come in? I baked some cookies last night, and I wanted to return the sweatshirt you lent me."

Puck shrugs. "Sure."

As they walk up the path to the front door, Puck notices a manila envelope lying on the stoop. "Hey, what's that?" he asks, stopping Rachel before she steps on it.

"I don't know," she says, picking it up to examine it. "It has my name on it."

She rips open one end and pulls out a piece of notebook paper and a cassette tape. She tucks the tape under her arm and unfolds the note. At first, she scowls, but as she reads her expression turns shocked, and all the color drains from her face.

"Rachel? What is it?"

Wordlessly, she hands him the letter.

_Dear Rachel, _it begins. _I would like to apologize for what happened earlier. I shouldn't have stooped to deception to get you to meet me. And honestly, I didn't intend to insult your Glee Club. However, I did have a purpose in seeing you today, and although this isn't exactly the way I'd hoped to break this news to you, I simply don't see any other way. I should have come clean sooner, but the more I got to know you, the more I wanted to stay. If the circumstances had been different, I believe we could have really had something special, but I guess we'll never know._

_The truth is, Rachel, that when I met you in the music store that day, it was no coincidence. I knew who you were, and I approached you for a reason: your mother asked me to get to know you. And so I did. But I wasn't supposed to fall for you, and I let my emotions get the best of me. _

_Anyway, enclosed is a tape that your mother made for you. I was supposed to hide it in your house so that you could "find" it, and encourage you to look for your mother. She isn't supposed to contact you directly until after your 18__th__ birthday, but apparently there's no problem if you seek her out. She still would like to meet you. When you are ready, please let me know, and I'll put you in touch with her._

_I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, because I never meant to hurt you. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Jesse _

_God, the guy sounds like a douche even when he's writing. _Puck looks up from the letter to find Rachel staring blankly at the tape, which has "From Mother to Daughter" written on the label. She seems to be frozen in shock, so he takes her house keys from her hand and unlocks the door. "Come on, let's get you inside."

She nods vaguely and walks through the open door, leaving her bag on stoop. In the living room, she sets the tape down on the coffee table and takes a seat on the couch, her eyes never leaving the tape. Puck grabs her bag and steps inside, shutting the door behind him. He pauses to take his shoes off (the last time he'd been over, she'd told him how her dads hated shoes in the house) and takes a seat on the couch next to her and waits for her to say something. The minutes tick by, but Rachel hasn't moved a muscle, and frankly, he's kind of freaked out.

Puck's not really sure what to do at this point. He's not really the type of guy girls turn to for comfort. Well, not this kind of comfort. Heh. He mentally smacks himself for making jokes instead of trying to make Rachel feel better, and then he remembers that she had once mentioned that she got thirsty when she was upset, so he heads into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. When he returns to the living room, he pushes the glass into her hand, and she finally looks away from the tape to stare at it.

She finishes the water in one gulp, then sets the glass down on the table. "Thank you, Noah," she says softly.

_Well, at least she's not looking at the tape anymore,_ Puck thinks as sits down cautiously at the end of the couch. "Um, do you want more water? Or a cookie?"

Rachel shakes her head. "No, thank you."

When she doesn't say anything else for a while, Puck starts trying to figure out a way to get her to start talking. The Rachel Berry he knows _needs_ to talk about everything, and he figures it can't be healthy for her to hold it in.

Rachel shakes her head suddenly. "Oh, Noah, I'm being a terrible hostess. Can I offer you a drink, or maybe a cookie?"

"Rach," Puck says sternly. "Forget about it. Talk to me. What are you thinking about?"

"Honestly?" Rachel says hesitantly. "I was thinking that Jesse did end up being a spy of sorts, just not in the way I'd imagined. I'm _so_ glad I didn't sleep with him!" She looks up at him. "Is it terrible that I'm thinking about _that_ at a time like this?"

"Babe, you can think anything you wanna think." Puck pulls her over to him, and wraps his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. Rachel sighs, and burrows her head a little deeper into his chest.

"Noah? I give you permission to beat him up now."

He grins. "About damn time." He feels her smile against his chest. "So. What about your mom?"

"I don't know," Rachel says hesitantly. "I've been waiting so long to meet her, but…what if she doesn't like me? What if I'm a disappointment?"

"You gotta stop with that shit, Rachel." Puck says sharply, pushing her away a bit and tilting her chin up so that he can look her in the eyes. "How could you be a disappointment? You're smart, and beautiful, and funny. You're talented as hell, and you're like the nicest person I know. You're practically the poster child for good kids. Hell, _my_ mother practically wants to adopt you, and she doesn't like _anybody_."

There is a pause. "You think I'm beautiful?" Rachel asks shyly.

"Uh, I –"(_Ah, fuck it_, he thinks) "Yeah. _Yes. _Of course I do. Have you _seen_ you?" She giggles and looks up at him through her lashes. Puck knows that if he tried to kiss her right now, she wouldn't object. And God, he really, really, wants to. But his _stupid _conscience is screaming that it would be wrong, and dammit, when he kisses her, he wants to be the only thing on her mind. So he lets the moment pass and changes the subject back to her mother. "Look, Rach – it's totally up to you. If you don't think you're ready to meet her yet, then don't. But least you know she _wants_ to see you, and when you_ are_ ready, you can finally get some answers to the questions you have."

Rachel nods slowly. "I need some time to think about it." She picks up the tape and runs her fingers across the words written on the label. "Noah," she says. "Would you mind staying with me? While I listen to this, I mean?"

"Yeah, of course I'll stay, if you want me to."

She stands up and leads him up the stairs to her room. He takes a seat on the edge of her bed as she goes into her closet to look for her old radio, which has a tape deck. She sets up the tape, hesitating slightly before pressing the play button. She sits back down next to Puck on the bed and wraps her arms around him as the tape begins. His arms automatically enfold her small frame and he pulls her onto his lap. Rachel's mom introduces herself, tells Rachel that she loves her, and begins singing. Puck doesn't know the song, but it's hauntingly sad and beautiful. Rachel begins sobbing lightly against his chest, and his shirt is becoming damp from her tears, but he just holds her tight and lets her cry long after her mother's voice has faded away.

Eventually, Rachel's sobs grow softer, and her breathing evens out, and Puck realizes that she's fallen asleep. Gently he shifts her body off of his lap and onto the bed, but when he starts to pull away, she turns over and places her hand on his arm.

Her eyes are barely open, but they look at him pleadingly. "Please, stay? Just for a little while longer?"

He lays down on the bed beside her, and she slips her small hand into his. She turns over, pulling his arm over her body so that they're spooning. "Thank you," she whispers. Pucks gives her a little squeeze in reply. He'll stay until she falls asleep.

When Puck opens his eyes, the room is almost completely dark. The clock on Rachel's nightstand reads 6:05. Shit, he'd slept longer than he'd meant to_. What time did she say her dads come home? _He's met the Berry dads before, at Temple, and they've always been pretty nice to him. But he has a feeling they'd like him a lot less if they caught him leaving their daughter's bedroom.

Carefully (and rather reluctantly), he slips his arm off of Rachel's waist and slides off the bed. When he's sure she's still asleep, he cautiously peeks out of her bedroom door. It doesn't look like any of the lights are on in the house yet, so he breathes a sigh of relief and heads downstairs.

He's standing in the foyer and has just gotten his left sneaker on when he hears the rumbling of the garage opening. He freezes for a second, then scrambles to put on his other shoe. He struggles with the knotted shoelaces for a bit but finally gets the shoe on just as he hears the garage door open.

"Rachel, honey? Are you home? Whose truck is parked outside?" Leroy Berry calls. The lights in the kitchen turn on.

Puck unlocks the front door as quietly as he can, and pulls it open, revealing a small, balding man standing on the front porch.

"Er, hi, Mr. Berry."

_Well, shit. _


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I am SO sorry for the delay on this chapter. I promise the next one will be up much sooner!**

* * *

Mike absolutely _hates_ lying to people; he always feels so guilty afterwards that he generally tries to avoid doing it all. But when Matt approached him yesterday and told him that Puck and Rachel weren't speaking, Mike figured that there wasn't much harm in telling a _little_ lie if it would help his friends work out their problems. So he'd told Puck that he had to take his grandmother to the doctor, and asked him to take Rachel home, then called Rachel to tell her about the change of plans.

At night, however, Mike kept having the same dream over and over again: Rachel was standing on his doorstep, wearing the yellow dress from the mashup competition, only it was all tattered and worn. She kept wailing that if he had just helped her with her dance recital piece, she could have been a star.

And so, Mike is now sitting in his car in front of Rachel's house, waiting for her to come out. He'd called her this morning to see if she wanted to work on her dance, but she told him she had to work on her group English project. It sounded like fun – they were going to film _Jane Eyre_ as a horror movie – and since he didn't have any plans today anyway, he'd volunteered to help out.

Also, he really wants to meet this Jason guy, who (according to Matt) has Puck raging with jealousy. See, here's the thing: Mike _knows_ Puck likes Rachel. It's pretty obvious, really, to anyone who knows him well. But since Puck isn't exactly the type to talk about his feelings, Mike pretends not to notice, although he isn't above flirting with Rachel when Puck's around (it's pretty damn funny to watch him act like he doesn't care and then fume silently). Still, Puck is definitely his boy, and if Jason is seriously a threat to Puckleberry happiness, Mike will totally shut that shit down.

As Rachel walks down the driveway, Mike notices that her step is lacking its usual bounce and energy, and he immediately feels ten times guiltier. _He's never telling a lie again._

He steps out of the car, takes her duffel bag, and gives her a quick hug. "Is everything okay? You seem a little down," he comments as he sticks her bag in the back seat.

Rachel sighs. "Well, I just received some rather upsetting news. I'll tell you about it on the way to Artie's house."

Nodding, Mike turns on the ignition and pulls onto the road as Rachel explains how Jesse had tricked her into meeting him after school yesterday, and that he'd left a letter on her doorstep telling her that he'd first approached her because her mother had asked him to get to know her.

Mike lets out a low whistle. "Wow. So, what happens now?"

"Nothing, really, which is why I'm upset," Rachel says with a frown. "Daddy called the lawyer's office this morning, and found out that he'll be out of town until the end of the month, so I won't be able to get my mother's contact information until then. I _really_ don't want to speak to Jesse again, but he said he could get in touch with her." She lets out a frustrated breath, blowing her hair off her forehead. "If I'd just _listened_ to what he had to say, I could be speaking to my mother right now!"

"Nah, don't give that jackass the satisfaction," Mike says, shaking his head. "We'll just have to keep you busy for the next two weeks. Anyway, with Regionals and your recital coming up, that shouldn't be too hard to do."

The corner of Rachel's mouth turns up. "I suppose you're right. That's what Noah said as well."

"Speaking of Puck, is everything okay with you guys? I haven't really seen the two of you together much this week." When she doesn't answer right away, he glances over and sees that she is blushing. "Rach?"

She hesitates. "If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Uh –" _Not even Matt, _he wonders, although he's a little embarrassed to say it out loud.

"You can tell Matt," she adds.

Relieved, Mike nods. "Oh, good. He can always tell when I'm hiding something. Yeah, of course I promise."

Rachel glances around as if to make sure no one can overhear. "Yes, it's true we haven't been together much since I've been back to school. That's because I've been avoiding him." She takes a deep breath and practically whispers, "_I think I have a crush on Puck and I thought if I stayed away from him it would go away but it hasn't and now I don't know what to do."_ She collapses back into her seat dramatically, as if a huge burden has been lifted from her shoulders.

Mike unsuccessfully tries to hide his grin. Luckily, Rachel is still staring up at the car roof and doesn't notice. He finds her melodramatic tendencies to be completely hilarious. However, since she obviously seems upset, some delicacy is in order, so he forces his face into a neutral expression and says gently, "Okay. But why would you want it go away?"

"I just…I don't want to be that girl again, pining after the guy that wants someone else." She laughs mirthlessly. "Funny, isn't it? It seems I'm destined to always be Quinn Fabray's understudy_._"

Mike is thoroughly confused. He_ knows_ Puck has feelings for Rachel, so he has no idea why she thinks he wants Quinn. "I don't understand. Puck and Quinn are just friends. Yeah, they're having a kid, but there isn't anything romantic between them, not anymore anyway."

Rachel shakes her head sadly. "I wish that were true, but I've _seen_ the way he looks at her. Like on Monday, after school – I was with Quinn and Jason, talking about our English project, and I saw Noah staring at them from the parking lot. That's when I decided that it was hopeless and that I needed to get over him." She smiles wryly. "And anyway, didn't _you_ tell me not to date any more of the guys in Glee?"

Mike rolls his eyes. "I was mostly kidding about that. If you really have feelings for Puck, then you should tell him. Actually, I'm kind of surprised that you haven't already – it's pretty unlike you to _not_ go after what you want."

They've arrived at Artie's house. Mike pulls up to the curb and turns off the engine, but he makes no move to get out of the car, waiting for her reply.

Rachel just shakes her head. "Perhaps it is. But I scared away both Finn and Jesse by being myself, I couldn't bear it if I lost Noah as well. And if I told him that I like him, I would. It would completely ruin our friendship. It would be so difficult to be around him, knowing that he doesn't feel the same way about me. I mean, of course, I'm a professional, and I would _never_ let my personal life affect my performance in Glee –"

"But, Rach," Mike interrupts, "you can't know for sure how he feels about you unless you talk to him."

"But why bother?" Rachel's smile is sad. "I'm well aware that I'm nothing like the type of girl that he wants. I might as well spare myself the pain of actually hearing him say it out loud. "

Her voice has a ring of finality to it, and although Mike still wants to argue, he can see that he won't be able to change her mind, at least not today. He is certain that she's wrong, but he just doesn't know how to prove it to her.

* * *

Mike is having a blast helping Rachel and her group film their English project. He even got to play the minor role of Mr. Mason, who gets mauled by Bertha (played by Tina) and then breaks up the wedding of Jane (Rachel, naturally) and Rochester (Jason). He thinks Puck would appreciate that last part, even if it was fake (and Jane and Rochester get together at the end anyway). And Jason seems like a nice guy – it only took Mike about five minutes to realize that Puck is a blind idiot for being jealous since Jason is _clearly_ in love with Quinn.

Late in the afternoon, Mike stands on Artie's porch with the group, discussing the big finale for the film. Rochester and Bertha are supposed to struggle on the (fake) roof before Tina leaps off of it, but after a few takes, Artie isn't happy with the footage.

"It just doesn't look convincing," he states with a frown.

Mike looks at the prop roof Jason had built, and then up at the real roof. "Well, what if we filmed on the actual roof instead?"

"We could do that," Jason says thoughtfully. "I'm sure Rachel could film us with the camera, Artie, if you explain to her what angles and shots you want."

"But I can't just jump off the roof," Tina protests.

"You could," Mike says, "if you had something to land on. Or in. Like, say, the bed of a lifted truck."

Rachel catches on, and shakes her head. "Oh, no, I'm sure he's _much_ too busy to let us use his truck –"

"Nah, I'm sure he'd be happy to help you…guys. Uh, all of you guys," Mike adds lamely.

"Who?" Quinn demands from her seat on the porch swing (due to her pregnancy, most of her contributions to the project were behind the camera, although she did play Blanche Ingram).

"Puck," Mike answers. "His truck would be perfect. It's lifted high enough that the jump from the roof wouldn't be too bad, and we can put couch cushions or something in the truck bed to soften the impact. Puck and I could stand there too, and help catch Tina."

Tina nods enthusiastically and squeezes his arm. "I think that could work! That's a great idea, Mike!"

Huh. Mike has never noticed what a pretty smile Tina has.

Artie's voice cuts into his reverie. "Great, so do you think you can call him?"

Mike nods and phones Puck, who says he'll be there in half an hour.

"Tell him to bring Pringles!" Quinn calls. "Cheddar – no, sour cream and onion!"

Mike passes along the message, then turns away from the group and lowers his voice. "See you in a few. And dude, you should see that Jason guy, he's all over Rachel." He hangs up with a grin.

Puck's at Artie's house in ten minutes flat.

He hands two cans of Pringles to Quinn (he brought both flavors, just in case), and nods a greeting at the rest of the group. Mike notices the slight glare he gives Jason, and the way Rachel blushes slightly when he smiles at her.

Artie tells Puck to back his truck into the driveway, and they fill the bed with couch cushions and pillows. Filming the fight on the roof goes off without a hitch, although Mike is pretty sure Tina flubbed her lines on purpose at least twice just so that she could jump off the roof a few extra times.

"Dude," Puck comments as Rachel and Jason climb down from the roof, "if I got to jump off a roof for a class project, I totally would've gone to English more often."

"Thanks for your help," Artie says. "We only have a couple of scenes left, and then we're all done! Well, except for the editing, adding the special effects, and the music, of course. So, really, we still have a whole crapload to do."

"Okay. Anything I can do to help?" Puck asks.

"Actually, I am getting kind of hungry," Quinn says as she polishes off a can of Pringles. "Would you mind picking up a few pizzas? It'll be on me, Jason, and Rachel, of course, to thank you guys for all your help."

"I'll go with you," Mike volunteers.

The group decides on toppings, and Mike calls in the order as he gets into Puck's truck.

"Oh, I forgot, how your grandma?" Puck asks as he pulls out on to the main road.

"Huh?" Oh, right. "She's fine, thanks. How was the ride home with Rachel?"

Puck scowls. "Did she tell you what that asshole Jesse did?" Mike nods. "Yeah, well, I'm just glad I was there, she was really upset. I ended up staying until her dads came home."

"Really?" Mike is surprised. Puck isn't really a meet-the-parents kind of guy.

"Yeah, it was kind of an accident. I fell asleep, and then when I tried to sneak out, I ran into her dad at the front door, and then her other dad threatened to get his shotgun. I've never been so scared in my life."

Mike raises an eyebrow. "Fell asleep, huh?" Rachel certainly hadn't mentioned that.

Puck glares at him. "Not like that, dude."

"Then why were you sneaking out?"

"I don't know, instinct?" Puck shrugs. "Anyway, they ended up being pretty cool. After Rachel woke up and explained everything, they invited me to stay for dinner. Chinese takeout."

"Mandarin Garden?"

"No, Imperial Palace."

"Ooh, nice," Mike says approvingly.

Puck parks in front of the pizza place and the two of them go inside. The pizzas won't be ready for another couple of minutes, so they sit on a bench to wait.

"So, Rachel's dads liked you, huh?" Mike asks, glancing at Puck.

"Yeah, I guess," Puck shrugs. "Once her daddy realized that I hadn't just defiled his little girl, he was a lot nicer. Guy's kinda terrifying for someone I could probably bench press."

"But you want to, right? Defile his little girl, I mean," Mike clarifies.

Puck looks genuinely pissed. "What the hell? No, it's not like that." He hesitates. "I – I think I really like her. And if you tell _anyone_ I said that, I will _kick _your _ass,_" he adds with a scowl.

Mike grins. "I _knew _it! I just wanted to hear you say it. So you don't have feelings for Quinn?"

"No, of course not. I mean, we're friends and all, and I'm gonna be there for her and my kid, but that's it."

"That's what I told Rachel, but she seems to think you're in love with Quinn."

"Dude, why are you and Rachel talking about me?" He pauses. "Well, what did she say?"

Mike chooses his words carefully, trying to keep Rachel's secret without outright lying to Puck. "I asked her why she was avoiding you. She said she saw you watching Quinn the other day, and that she didn't want to get in the way."

Puck looks confused. "She saw me watching Quinn? When?"

"Monday, I think. She said she was sitting with Jason and Quinn, and she saw you staring from across the parking lot."

Pucks thinks for a second before his face clears. "Dude. I wasn't watching Quinn, I was watching _her. _She was talking to Jason for a while before Quinn joined them. I didn't know they were working on a project together, and I thought…" He shakes his head with a laugh. "Seriously, only Rachel would catch someone staring at her and think he was staring at someone else. She's got some issues."

Mike nods. "I know. It's like, when she's singing, she's got all the confidence in the world, but as soon as she's off stage, it just disappears. I've been trying to work on that with her."

Puck stares at him for a beat. "You know, you're a really good friend."

Mike shrugs modestly. "Well, I should probably tell you, as her good friend, that I will personally break both of your legs if you hurt her."

"I'll try not to," Puck says, shaking his head. "So what do I do now? Santana said I need to 'stake my claim,' but how am I supposed to do that?"

Mike cracks up. "You went to _Santana_ for romance advice? Dude, that's like asking a shark how to ride a bike."

"Shut up," Puck says, shoving him. "I didn't _ask_ for advice, she just kind of _gave_ it to me."

"She _does_ have a point though," Mike concedes. "Rachel's awesome, and the more she comes out of her shell, the more people will notice – the more _other guys_ will notice."

"And again, I ask, _what do I do now_?"

"Well, just tell her how you feel. I'm sure the two of you will figure it out."

"Huh. Really, that's all I have to do?"

"Seriously? Haven't you ever told a girl that you liked her?"

"No," Puck says with a shrug.

Mike sniffles and pretends to wipe a tear from his eye. "Aw, my little boy's growing up!"

"Fuck off," Pucks says, punching his shoulder.

The two of them swat at each other playfully until the pizza guy calls them over to let them know their order is ready. Back at Artie's house, the group finishes filming just as Puck pulls up to the curb.

"And that's a wrap! Perfect timing, guys!" Artie says, grinning at Puck and Mike.

The group settles in the kitchen to start eating. Rachel jumps up from her seat suddenly and dashes into the living room, returning with a plastic container that she sets on to the table. "I almost forgot! I baked these for us this morning."

Mike snatches a sugar cookie out of the container and lets out a moan after the first bite. "Rachel," he says seriously, "I love you. Will you marry me?"

Rachel giggles. "Why, Mike! This is all so sudden, my parents would never approve!"

Mike yelps as he feels a sharp kick to his shin. "Dude," he says to Puck, who is sitting across from him. "Did you just kick me?"

"Sorry, my foot slipped," he answers with a glare, completely unapologetically.

Mike rolls his eyes and rubs his shin. _Note to self,_ he thinks ruefully, _no more flirting with Rachel in front of Puck now that he's admitted he likes her. _A brilliant idea suddenly pops into his head. He makes a show out of looking at the clock on the wall and stands up. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! I'm supposed to have dinner with my family tonight, for, uh, Chinese New Year."

Tina looks confused. "But Chinese New Year was months ago –"

"I know," Mike interrupts her hastily, "but we haven't able to celebrate until now. Dad's been busy at work. So, Puck, would you mind taking Rachel home? I mean, if it's okay with you, Rach."

She gives him a suspicious look, but nods her head.

Puck shrugs nonchalantly. "Sure, no problem."

Mike promises to call Rachel in the morning so that they can work on her dance recital piece, and heads out to his car. Halfway home, he remembers that his parents took his grandmother to visit some friends in Columbus, and wouldn't be back until late that night.

Dammit, he should have had more pizza.

_Oh well_, he thinks as he boils water for his instant noodles, _it was worth it. At least I'll sleep like a baby tonight._

And he does.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Some of the dialogue in this chapter is taken from the 'Funk' episode (which I do not own).**

* * *

Puck tips his chair back onto its back two legs as he watches Rachel disappear into the stacks. He'd bumped into her on his way to lunch (never mind that he'd had to pass the cafeteria in order to do so), and when she told him she was heading for the library to do some research, he volunteered to go with her. It's been awhile since he's been in the library. Actually, the last time he was here was when he was still dating Rachel – he has some fond memories of them making out in the Biography section.

Unfortunately, there probably won't be any of that going on today. Although Mike had given him the opportunity to be alone with Rachel on Saturday, he just hadn't had the chance to tell her how he feels about her. It wasn't that he'd chickened out or anything, it's just that once she got into the truck, he didn't want to bring it up, because what if she laughed in his face? That would've made for one really awkward ride home, so he figured he'd wait until he started driving. But you can't really talk about important things while driving (hello, he has to watch the road – he's not Finn), so they talked about other stuff and before he knew it, they were at her house. Anyway, it's not like he can just come out and tell her that he likes her, right? He needs to work up to it, and he needs some time to figure out exactly how.

He's _not_ chicken.

(Shut up.)

It's just that Puck's never been in this situation before. He was basically telling Mike the truth when he said that he'd never told a girl that he likes her; he's said the actual _words _before, but that was more like, "Yeah, sure, I like you, baby," as he negotiated his way to second (or third) base. He's never _cared_ if they believed him or not, because there were always other girls.

Plus, once he tells her he likes her, what happens next (assuming that she doesn't completely shoot him down)? Like, does that mean he's her boyfriend? Because he's been a boyfriend exactly once in his life, and it pretty much sucked; he and Santana fought constantly, and they basically cheated on each other the entire time they were together. He doesn't want things to be like that with Rachel, but he just doesn't know how to _do _the boyfriend thing.

Damn. This really is the kind of thing that he would've talked to Finn about. But Puck knows he can't exactly call him up and say, "Hey, man, sorry about knocking up your girl, but would you mind hooking me up with your _other_ ex?" Yeah, he's sure that would go over _real_ well.

Puck sets his chair back down and drums his fingers on the table as he waits for Rachel to come back. Spotting her phone peeking out of her backpack, he grins and pulls it out. Might as well entertain himself for a bit. When he hears footsteps approaching, he hurriedly sticks the phone back into her bag.

Rachel returns to the table with an armful of telephone books and divides them into two piles. "Okay," she says in a low voice, "you take that one and I'll take this one."

"Sure. So what exactly am I looking for again?"

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, nothing important, just _my mother_. Until the lawyer gets back, all I have to go on is her name and the fact that she attended OSU in the early 90s." She sighs. "Unfortunately, Shelly Johnson seems to be a rather common name, so it will take quite some time to narrow the list down. Assuming, of course, that she's even_ in_ Ohio and hasn't married. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Puck shrugs and pulls the first phone book off of the pile as Rachel takes a seat across from him. He copies down the addresses and phone numbers of two Shelly Johnsons and five S. Johnsons into his notebook. Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, he sets his pen down to pull it out. He hears Rachel's phone go off as well.

_[Vocal Adrenaline has a message for New Directions. Meet us in the auditorium, and spread the word.] _Puck doesn't recognize the number, but he's pretty sure he knows who it's from.

"Why is Jesse asking me to meet him in the auditorium? Did he text you too?"

Rachel looks up from her own phone, her left eyebrow raised. "Jesse? No. However, I did receive a text from an Assface McDoucherson." She makes a face at him. "_Really_, Noah?"

He smirks at her unrepentantly. One, he got her to say 'ass,' and two, she really should know better than to leave her phone unattended around him. He can't wait until she finds the other names he changed (he really, really wants to see her face when she gets a call from Satan's Hellbitch).

"Totally fits him better," he explains with a snicker.

She surprises him by grinning. "You know, I think you're right. Let's go see what Assface has to say."

Rachel tells him to forward the text to the rest of the Glee Club, in case they didn't get it, as they gather all the phone books and return them to the proper shelves before leaving the library. On their way, they see Mercedes, Tina, Artie, and Kurt heading in the same direction.

"You have to come to the auditorium! It's an emergency!" Rachel calls, barely even pausing as they pass. The others speed up, following closely behind them.

The rest of the club is already at the auditorium. They file inside to see Jesse standing on the stage with the members of Vocal Adrenaline.

"Ah, nice to you all again," Jesse says insincerely as the New Directions take seats in the front section. "As you probably know by now, I've transferred back to Carmel High. I'm sorry that it's come to this, but you guys were awful to me. You never listened to my _clearly_ superior ideas and you never really accepted me."

"Because you were kind of a dick," Puck says loudly.

The girl standing next to Jesse glares at Puck, but he can see a couple of guys in the back trying to hide their laughter.

Jesse shoots a dirty look in his direction. "And, obviously, _some_ of you were just immature jerks. I'm so glad that I don't have to work with _amateurs_ any longer."

Puck glances at Rachel sitting beside him. He can practically _see_ the anger radiating from her body, and he suppresses a grin. Jesse had better hope that she doesn't catch him alone – between finding out about his involvement with her mother, the bullshit speech he just gave, and calling the New Directions amateurs (again), Puck is pretty sure Rachel would tear Jesse apart. Verbally, first, and then physically, with her tiny, bare hands.

Jesse continues, "Regardless, the blogs and chat rooms say that we're finished and that you guys are ripe to topple us. We just wanted to show you something we came up with a few days ago to see if you agree with that assessment."

Vocal Adrenaline launches into a performance of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." Jesse might be a complete asshat, but he can definitely sing, and the supporting members are all pretty solid too. Puck has to admit that they are really damn good; Regionals might not be as in the bag as he'd thought.

As the New Directions glumly make their way back to the practice room, Artie explains that it's apparently a Carmel High tradition to psych out the competition. "They call it 'funkification,' meaning they show us what they've got, and we spiral into a deep, dark funk."

"Well, it worked. If we don't beat them at Regionals, we're finished," Mercedes replies with a heavy sigh.

"Guys, it's not _that_ bad," Rachel says, trying to sound upbeat. "Once we settle on our set list, and start practicing –" She nearly runs into Kurt, who has stopped in the doorway to the practice room. "Um, Kurt?"

Wordlessly, he steps inside so that the rest of them can go in. Puck looks around and sees toilet paper _everywhere;_ it's hanging from the lights, wrapped around the chairs and the music stands, taped onto the cabinets – it looks like a snowstorm hit the practice room. It's kind of impressive - Puck would have admired the effort, if, you know, he weren't a victim of the prank.

Matt leaves to find Mr. Schue, and they both come back with trash cans and stuff to start cleaning up. While the dejected group works to rid the room of the toilet paper, Mr. Schue throws out some really lame suggestions for retaliation (stealing the school statue? _Please_). Puck rolls his eyes as he pulls a long string of toilet paper down from the ceiling. He knows that it's going to be up to him to step up, because _come on._ Revenge is totally his domain. He can feel someone staring at him, and when he looks around, he's surprised to see that it's Finn.

Finn glances around the room, and meets his eye again, both eyebrows raised. _We're not gonna let them get away with this, are we?_

Puck grins and shakes his head slightly. _Hell, no. It's _so _on._

* * *

Finn comes over to Puck's house that evening after dinner, dressed in dark clothes as they had discussed. They take Finn's car to drive to Carmel High, since they decide it's less conspicuous than Puck's truck, but Puck drives since 90-year old blind women drive better than Finn does. The ride is silent until Puck pulls on to the freeway, when both boys start to speak at the same time. Finn motions at Puck to go first.

"Look, I know I can't ever make up for what happened with Quinn," Puck begins. "But for what it's worth, I really _am_ sorry."

"I'm not really sure if things are ever going to be the way they were before, " Finn says.

Puck nods. He can accept that (really, he impregnated his best friend's girlfriend – it's kind of hard to bounce back from that).

"But maybe we can try hanging out? See how it goes?"

Puck grins. "What, vandalizing the cars of a bunch of assholes doesn't count as 'hanging out'?"

Finn laughs, and they start discussing their next basketball game, the Indians' pitching staff, and other random topics, and it's _almost_ like old times again.

During a lull in the conversation, Puck wonders how to bring up the topic of relationships. He ends up blurting out, "Hey, I know this is kind of random, but do you think I could be a good boyfriend?"

Finn looks at him sideways. "Uh, I'm flattered, but you're not really my type."

"Not for you, dumbass," Puck says, rolling his eyes. "Just, in general. You know, hypothetically."

"Shouldn't you ask Santana, since she actually _was_ your girlfriend?"

"But I already _know_ I was a bad boyfriend when I was with her. I just want to know how to be a _good_ one, and if you think _I_ could ever be one."

"Well, first of all, you realize that you wouldn't be able to sleep with other girls anymore, right?"

"I know," Puck says with a sigh. That would probably be the toughest part for him, but he figures it's only fair – the thought of Rachel being with some other guy makes his stomach turn. "What else would I have to do?"

Finn shrugs. "I don't know. Just listen to her when she talks, or at least _look_ like you are, and do things to make her happy." He cocks his head at Puck. "So, is there a particular girl you have in mind here, or what?"

"Nah, I'm just wondering. You know, can't be a sex shark forever," he says. Finn looks as if he doesn't believe him, but he lets the subject drop.

Puck pulls the car over a few blocks down from Carmel High. "Alright, let's go break shit."

Finn laughs as they get out of the car to walk the rest of the way to the high school. "You know, Rachel would _kill_ us if she found out about this."

Yeah, she totally would. Puck can almost hear her yelling about boys and violence and needless destruction.

"Yeah, well, we just gotta make sure she _doesn't_ find out." Puck pauses, then asks as casually as he can, "Hey, so what's up with you two anyway? Now that she's not with Jesse anymore, are you gonna hook up with her again?" He holds his breath as he waits for Finn to answer, because honestly, if Finn wants her back, Puck feels like he kind of owes it to him to step aside.

_Please say no_, he thinks.

Much to his relief, Finn shakes his head. "I think she's a great person, and she's hot and all, but I think we might be better off as friends. And anyway, I'm pretty sure she's not into me anymore."

The two boys reach the parking lot, where they see several rows of shiny black Range Rovers parked.

Finn lets out a low whistle. "Wow. We can barely afford to rent a bus, and they get _Range Rovers_?"

Puck shrugs and hands Finn a pocketknife. "So let's even things up a little. You can start over there," he says, pointing at the other end of the row.

Finn nods and jogs over as Puck heads over to the first car in his row. He smirks when he reads the license plate: 1Jesse1_._

_Oh, this is gonna be fun._

* * *

The next morning, Puck saunters down the hallway feeling awesome. He restored his Glee Club's honor (now _there_ was a sentence he never thought he'd ever think), _and _he got his best friend back. He was the _man_.

It lasts for about five minutes, until Miss Pillsbury stops him and tells him that Figgins wants to see him.

Finn is already in the principal's office, along with Mr. Schue and a pretty, dark-haired woman. Puck takes one look at them and says, "We didn't do anything, and you can't prove that we did."

Wordlessly, Figgins picks up a remote and turns on the TV, which shows surveillance footage of him and Finn in the Carmel High parking lot slashing the tires.

_Oops, must've missed that camera._

"Okay, yeah, we did it, and I'm proud! We stood up for our friends." He looks over at Finn. "But it was totally my idea."

Finn frowns. "No, it wasn't, we both –"

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was," Figgins interrupts. "You both caused thousands of dollars' worth of damage to those cars."

"They got what was coming to them!" Puck says heatedly.

The dark-haired woman speaks up. "A _few _of my students played a harmless prank. It was just toilet paper. _You two_ slashed the tires on the Range Rovers of _all_ of my students, and keyed some inappropriate words on one in particular."

"Er, guys," Mr. Schue says a little belatedly, "this is Shelby Corcoran, the coach for Vocal Adrenaline."

Puck glares at her. "Well, one of _your_ students spied on us, and tried to seduce Rachel!"

"Yeah," Finn pipes up. "He broke her heart! We might've done a lot of physical damage, but Jesse caused _emotional_ damage!"

Puck glances at him approvingly. _Nice one, Finn._

Shelby looks taken aback. "Rachel Berry?"

"Look," Figgins says, trying to regain control of the conversation, "the fact remains that you boys destroyed private property. I'm afraid I'm going to have to expel you both."

"What?" Puck, Finn, and Mr. Schuester exclaim together. All three start protesting loudly.

"Hold on a second," Shelby shouts over the noise. She waits until the yelling dies down. "I really don't think expulsion is necessary, Mr. Figgins. If the boys agree to pay for the damages, I won't press charges."

"I agree," Finn says immediately. Puck nods as well. It might be a little tough, since most of his pool money has already gone towards Quinn's medical bills, but anything's better than being expelled.

Figgins claps his hands together. "Ah, Ms. Corcoran, you are as wise and merciful as you are beautiful."

"Um, thank you," she says.

Mr. Schue gives Puck and Finn a relieved smile. "I know neither of you have jobs right now, but I think Terri might be able to hire you at Sheets 'N Things."

"Good, good," Figgins says. "Now, you boys should get to class. The three of us will discuss the terms of your punishment, and Mr. Schuester will inform you about them later today. You may go."

Puck heads for the door, Finn close at his heels. Puck's hand is on the doorknob when he hears Ms. Corcoran ask, "Your friend, Rachel – is she okay?"

Puck turns to her. She genuinely seems concerned, so he answers honestly, "Well, Jesse treated her like sh – er, crap, but she'll be all right," Puck says. "She has us."

Finn nods in agreement. "Our Glee club takes care of each other."

Shelby smiles at them. "I'm glad," she says. She turns back to Mr. Schue and Figgins, and Puck figures that he and Finn are free to go.

"Well, that worked out better than I thought it would," Puck remarks as they step out into the hall.

"Yeah, my mom would've _killed_ me if I'd been expelled."

"It would have served you right, you _idiots!" _Rachel jumps up from the bench outside the office, Matt and Mike beside her.

"And frankly, we're kind of pissed that you didn't ask us to help," Mike adds. "We could've at least gotten rid of the security cameras."

"How'd you guys know about that?" Finn asks.

Matt shrugs. "We have first period with Santana."

Rachel glowers at Mike and Matt. "You're not helping," she says. She smacks Finn's arm, and then turns to Puck, still furious.

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, there, tiger. How'd you even know what happened?"

"Well, I received this text this morning," Rachel says, waving her phone at him.

He smirks when he sees it's from Assface. The text reads: _[Your hoodlum is responsible for this, isn't he?]_, and it's accompanied by a photo of the door of Jesse's Range Rover, which has the word 'prick' carved into it. Puck is rather proud of how well it shows up, despite the small size of the thumbnail photo, and he wonders if the other carvings came out as clearly. Rachel is still glaring at him though, so he wipes the smile from his face and hands back her phone.

"When I got to class this morning, I heard that Miss Pillsbury sent you to Mr. Figgins' office, and I put two and two together." She sends an angry glance at Finn, who cowers noticeably. "What were the two of you _thinking_? You could have been prosecuted! Worse, you could have been _expelled_! And that would not only have _ruined_ both of your lives, but it would have left us with only ten members, _which would have DISQUALIFIED US FROM REGIONALS_!"

Rachel's voice has gotten steadily louder and higher-pitched, and Puck is pretty sure that she's going to start shattering the windows if her rant continues any longer. He throws an arm over her shoulder. "Look, babe, that could've happened, but it _didn't_. Yeah, Finn and I are gonna have to work at Sheets 'N Things for the next, like, year, but whatever. We stood up for the Glee Club and we showed Vocal Adrenaline that we're not going down without a fight. _Totally_ worth it."

Rachel looks up at him, her expression softening. "_That's_ why you did it? Not because he called you an immature jerk?"

Puck shrugs. "I kinda _am_ an immature jerk."

Rachel smiles, her eyes sparkling. "Sometimes," she says. "Not always." She places her hand on his cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb. After a few seconds, she pulls her hand away abruptly and her cheeks redden. "Oops, I'd better go! I told Mrs. Gallagher I was just going to the bathroom, and I've been gone for _at least_ ten minutes already!" She dashes off.

Puck watches her until she rounds the corner before turning back to his friends. Finn, Mike, and Matt are all standing there, staring at him with amused grins. "What?"

"You guys are adorable," Matt says teasingly.

Puck rolls his eyes. "Oh, shut up." He flips them off as he turns to leave for class, although, really, it doesn't bother him that much.

"Hey, remember what you asked me yesterday?" Finn calls after him. Puck pauses and looks back at him. "I think you'll be just fine."

Puck nods his thanks and continues down the hall. When he's sure no one can see him, he touches his cheek and he can't stop the smile that spreads across his face.

Maybe he's ready to try this boyfriend thing again after all.


End file.
